The Yellowstone Bison

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The Yellowstone Bison
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The Memorandum of Understanding

• All joint-lead agencies must agree on the
  planning procedures and plan contents at each
  stage of the planning process.
• Strategy for bison management
• Possible modified preferred alternative for the
  final environmental impact statement
• Issues at hand
• A population limit for bison in the preferred
  alternative
• The ages and classes of Bison to receive the
  vaccinations

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Indian Ceremony
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Grown in Yellowstone Slaughtered in Montana
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MORE ITEMS TO TALK ABOUT

• Genetically imprinted to roam
• Taxpayers/public property/leased to cattle
  ranchers
• Bison/elk issue
• Revenues generated for border communities for
  recreational use of the park contributes to the
  problem. ie snowmobiling-groomed paths
• Call AV PERSON OR EMAIL

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Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act

• Yellowstone bison must be allowed to range freely
  on federal lands to the immediate north and west
  of the park.
• Management authority of bison within Yellowstone
  must be under the sole jurisdiction of the NPS
• A land exchange on the north side of the park
  must be finalized so that the small, private
  cattle herd no longer grazes near key wildlife
  habitats.

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Where Bison Leave the Park
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Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act (cont.)

• The bison capture facility within the park must
  be removed.
• Agency officials must make reasonable efforts to
  allow Yellowstone bison, like other wildlife, to
  freely roam public lands through incentives and
  cooperative efforts with adjacent private
  landowners.

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Unnecessary Slaughter

• Since 1985, more then 3,000 Yellowstone bison
  have been slaughtered
• The slaughter is often preceded by lengthy hazing
  operations.
• The operations are a result of a cooperative
  agreement between the NPS, the Montana Department
  of Livestock, and other state and federal
  agencies.

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(No Transcript)
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Federal Agencies can Haze the Bison into the Park
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The Reality of Disease Risk

• There has never been a documented case of the
  transmission of brucellosis.
• The transmission of the disease is further
  reduced.
• Virtually all cattle have been vaccinated against
  brucellosis.
• Cattle and bison generally do not occupy the same
  area at the same time.
• Transmission occurs via fluids and tissues, with
  either a live birth or aborted fetus
• The Yellowstone population is also the only
  continuously roaming wild bison herd in the
  United States.

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What You Can Do?

• Please contact your U.S. representative and ask
  him or her to support the Hinchey-Bass
  Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act. Let your
  legislators know that National Park Service
  rangers should be protecting these magnificent
  animals, rather than attempting to police a
  boundary that bison cannot recognize.
• To identify your elected officials and learn how
  to contact them, call The HSUS at 202-955-3668,
  or visit http//www.congress.org. The capitol
  switchboard at 202-224-3121 can connect you with
  your U.S. representative and your two U.S.
  senators.