Buffalo Wars (Abridged Story) From a news story by 2/18/97
Within the park boundary bison are not killed. It is hoped to keep them from disappearing. Outside the park in Montana bison are killed. The park doesn't have enough food for all of the bison. Montana has been shooting bison since 1990. Montana has to do the park's dirty work. Montana has to kill the bison because the park doesn't. Without killing there would be too many bison. After almost a thousand bison have been killed, the National Park rangers want the state of Montana to stop shooting bison. So do many who have seen it. A joint state federal management plan requires the park rangers to kill bison that try to leave. Or they can capture them and send them to be killed at slaughter houses. About 20 percent of Yellowstone Park's bison may carry the disease Brucellosis. Cattlemen say their cows might get the disease. About half the park's 3200 bison will die or be killed this winter. The cold weather and deep snow make the bison leave the park in search of food and warmth. But some bison keep warm near Yellowstone's famous hot pools. The steam vents might help these bison live during the winter. Bison that don't have the disease could be used to build up the bison herds on the Native American lands. Bison are an important part of Indian culture. Environmentalists say there are no known cases of cows getting Brucellosis from a bison. They think the ranchers fear they will lose some of their grazing land to the bison. There is talk of long term answers. There could be a hunting season or birth control for bison. Cattlemen's leases could be bought so that bison could roam. This will all take time.
Additional notes: Although this article was written in 1997, it continues to be a controversy. To get the latest information about this topic you can go to these web pages.
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