OVERVIEW

HISTORY

ACTORS

MAPS

DIMENSIONS:

ecosystem
wildlife
economic
policy
recreation/aesthetic
social

STUDY TEAM

YELLOWSTONE BISON & BRUCELLOSIS ACTORS

 
Greater Yellowstone Coalition:

  • The Greater Yellowstone Coalition was formed in 1983. It has over 7600 members, and the goal of the GYC is to maintain wildlife diversity and stop habitat fragmentation within the GYE.
  • The GYC blames the Montana Department of Livestock and Montana governor Marc Racicot for the slaughtering of Yellowstone Bison. The GYC has argued that both Racicot and the DOL have chosen to kill large numbers of bison which never posed any threat to cattle.
  • The GYC is currently working to stop bison slaughter and helping to ensure cattle and bison do not have to share the same land. The GYC has supported public land acquisition in order to help reach this goal.
  • The GYC has published numerous articles trying to prove that the recent slaughtering of bison was unnecessary and that up to eighty percent of the slaughtered bison were brucellosis free.
  • Throughout its campaign, the GYC has continuously criticized the DOL and urged citizens get involved with GYC and help "Save the bison."

For more information: http://www.greateryellowstone.org/


The National Parks and Conservation Association (NPCA):

  • The National Parks and Conservation Association was created in 1919 and its objective ever since then has been to "Preserve, Protect, and Enhance" the National Park System
  • After 1083 bison were killed in the harsh winter of 1996-97, The National Parks and Conservation Association created the Bison Belong Campaign.
  • The Bison Belong Campaign argues that Bison need to be saved because they are a symbol of the American Wilderness and because bison are crucial to the economic and ecological health of Southern Montana.
  • The NPCA states that the fear of brucellosis transmission to cattle is severely overblown and that State of Montana has made a mistake by underestimated the importance of Bison to the Yellowstone Region.
  • The main way the Bison Belong Campaign is trying to help the bison is by pressing the state and federal agencies to agree on a management solution before another severe winter kills mass amounts of bison.

For more information: http://www.npca.org/bison

USDI’s National Park Service:

  • The USDA’s Animal and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS) has been "working cooperatively with the livestock industry and the State animal health authorities to eradicate brucellosis from the United States." Also, APHIS is trying to "protect" both the livestock and bison from diseases introduced by outside sources.

  • APHIS has argued that both cattle and bison should be vaccinated, tested, and if positive for brucellosis, removed. This management plan, argues APHIS, is the only way to get a healthy and free roaming bison population within the GYE.

  • APHIS is the most involved of the USDA’s agencies with brucellosis. This is because APHIS is in charge of classifying states according to their brucella infection rate in cattle.

  • The different classifications are Class Free, Class A, Class B, and Class C. The lower the class, the more stringent the interstate regulations on movement of cattle. Also, because forty-three states are currently class free, hardly anyone is willing to risk doing business with any state whose cattle are not class free. A Class C classification can lead to federal quarantine. Montana and Wyoming have been Class Free since 1985 and Idaho has been class free since 1990.

For more information: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/nahps/Brucellosis/cattle.htm , APHIS Public Affairs (202) 720-2511  


USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service:

·        The USDA’s Animal and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS) has been “working cooperatively with the livestock industry and the State animal health authorities to eradicate brucellosis from the United States.”  Also, APHIS is trying to “protect” both the livestock and bison from diseases introduced by outside sources.

·        APHIS has argued that both cattle and bison should be vaccinated, tested, and if positive for brucellosis, removed.  This management plan, argues APHIS, is the only way to get a healthy and free roaming bison population within the GYE.

·        APHIS is the most involved of the USDA’s agencies with brucellosis.  This is because APHIS is in charge of classifying states according to their brucella infection rate in cattle. 

·        The different classifications are Class Free, Class A, Class B, and Class C.  The lower the class, the more stringent the interstate regulations on movement of cattle.  Also, because forty-three states are currently class free, hardly anyone is willing to risk doing business with any state whose cattle are not class free.  A Class C classification can lead to federal quarantine.  Montana and Wyoming have been Class Free since 1985 and Idaho has been class free since 1990.  

For more information: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/nahps/Brucellosis/cattle.htm  , APHIS Public Affairs (202) 720-2511  

The Greater Yellowstone Interagency Brucellosis Committee:

  • The Greater Yellowstone Interagency Brucellosis Committee (GYIBC) created its memorandum of understanding in 1995, which defined the problem of brucellosis and what plan of action was to be taken to solve the problem.
  • The goal the GYIBC since 1995 has been to protect and maintain the bison and elk populations in the GYE, while also protecting the economic viability of the livestock industry in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho.
  • The GYIBC is an objective committee where everyone impacted by brucellosis is represented equally and given equally consideration. The GYIBC is trying to do what's best for both sides on the issue of brucellosis.
  • Because the committee has no legal power, it can only make suggestions as to what should be done about brucellosis.
  • The GYIBC is the largest Brucellosis committee in existence.
  • The GYIBC has set a goal of trying to eradicate brucellosis from the GYE by 2010. All of the following groups have voting representatives on the GYIBC:
      • USDA - Forest Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Agricultural Resource Service
      • USDI - National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Geological Survey
      • Idaho Department of Fish and Game
      • Wyoming Fish and Game Department
      • Idaho Department of Agriculture
      • Wyoming Livestock Board
      • Montana Department of Livestock

For more Information: www.nps.gov/gyibc

Montana Department of Livestock:

  • The number one priority of the Montana Department of Livestock is to protect and maintain the health and economic viability of the livestock in Montana.

  • Since 1995, the Montana Department of Livestock has had the mandate from the legislature to deal with bison which leave YNP in a way that ensures the safety of the Montana cattle.

  • here are two ways the DOL deals with Bison who leave YNP. The first way is to try and scare the bison back into the park. This process is called "hazing." However, snowmobiles have made trails which create easy exits out of the park for bison. Because of this, more and more bison are able to leave YNP and the "hazers" are less able to scare all of the bison back into the park. When the bison are not scared back into the park by hazing, they are trapped in holding pens and then tested for brucellosis. If the bison are pregnant or test seropositive for brucellosis, then they are sent to slaughter. Non-pregnant bison that test negative are released back into the park.

  • The question is whether or not the seropositive bison are a threat to cattle and deserve to be slaughtered? The DOL feels the answer is yes and that any chance of cattle infection is too much of a risk to take. Because the DOL has been given lead authority under the Interim Bison Management Act, the DOL is able to implement policies which work in its best interest.

  • The livestock industry is vital to the economic success of Montana. The DOL argues that Montana is entrenched in a battle against brucellosis and must fight until there is no longer a threat of transmission. Also the DOL argues that the Bison population in YNP is five times above the number required to maintain long-term viability and that the bison population in YNP will not be threatened by the DOL brucellosis eradication efforts.

For more Information: http://www.liv.state.mt.us/NEWS.HTM