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Schweitzer explains bison management plan to ranchers
Posted on April 13
By the Associated Press
WEST YELLOWSTONE - Gov. Brian Schweitzer is proposing an expanded bison hunt and payments to ranchers who remove their cattle from the Yellowstone National Park area, saying he won't "roll over for the federal government" and let Montana be put at risk of losing its prized brucellosis-free status.
"I'm an activist governor," Schweitzer told The Associated Press Thursday. "I'm going to go out and work with folks."
The ideas, part of a 10-year management plan, would help preserve the state's brucellosis-free status for cattle and save money that would otherwise be spent chasing or shipping to slaughter bison that stray from Yellowstone, he said.
"It doesn't make any sense to haul (the bison) up and bring them to slaughter," said Schweitzer, who discussed his ideas Wednesday with landowners. "We're putting the entire cattle industry at risk. I think we can do it better, and I think we can do it cheaper."
Several ranchers expressed skepticism at his plan, saying the solution should come from the federal government.
"We're dealing with a federal problem," landowner Ray Stinnett said. "We're the solution to what the United States should be handling."
Schweitzer responded that federal officials aren't taking responsibility, and something must be done.
However, in an interview Thursday, Schweitzer made clear that he wasn't talking about Montana "reaching into our pockets" to pay. He suggested the federal government take the money it would be spending on hazing and slaughtering and use it on annual payments to ranchers.
Every year, bison leave Yellowstone to search for forage. Many of the park's bison have brucellosis, and Montana ranchers worry that bison could spread the disease to cattle. This could lead to trade sanctions. Brucellosis, a disease that some elk in the region also carry, can cause cows to abort.
Mike Manship, owner of Red Creek Ranch on Hebgen Lake, said bison should be placed in their natural environment in eastern Montana or at least moved to public land somewhere.
Schweitzer countered that the bison population can be controlled to where it won't be a problem through hunts. "We can get that down to a manageable number," he said. "A lot of people want to shoot these bison."
One landowner asked how many bison could be killed in a single hunting season.
"Well, we hauled 1,000 to slaughter this year," Schweitzer responded. "That doesn't make any sense."
The National Park Service this year shipped 849 bison to slaughter, while the state Department of Livestock sent off a few dozen. The activist Buffalo Field Campaign, which closely monitors agency actions and bison, has tallied just under 950 dead bison since last September, a figure a spokeswoman for the group says includes bison killed during the three-month bison hunt and agency removals.
Asked whether a bison hunt could create a tourist boycott and bad press from national media, Schweitzer said tourists will continue to visit Montana.
"If people were going to be angry with us, then they would have been angry with us this year when we sent 1,000 of them to slaughter," he said.
Schweitzer said Thursday that he favored an expanded bison hunt, but didn't elaborate on how much he'd like to see it grow, saying he wanted to hear what others had to say. In November, Montana held its first hunt in 15 years of bison that leave the park.
Schweitzer explains bison management plan to ranchers
Posted on April 13
By the Associated Press
WEST YELLOWSTONE - Gov. Brian Schweitzer is proposing an expanded bison hunt and payments to ranchers who remove their cattle from the Yellowstone National Park area, saying he won't "roll over for the federal government" and let Montana be put at risk of losing its prized brucellosis-free status.
"I'm an activist governor," Schweitzer told The Associated Press Thursday. "I'm going to go out and work with folks."
The ideas, part of a 10-year management plan, would help preserve the state's brucellosis-free status for cattle and save money that would otherwise be spent chasing or shipping to slaughter bison that stray from Yellowstone, he said.
"It doesn't make any sense to haul (the bison) up and bring them to slaughter," said Schweitzer, who discussed his ideas Wednesday with landowners. "We're putting the entire cattle industry at risk. I think we can do it better, and I think we can do it cheaper."
Several ranchers expressed skepticism at his plan, saying the solution should come from the federal government.
"We're dealing with a federal problem," landowner Ray Stinnett said. "We're the solution to what the United States should be handling."
Schweitzer responded that federal officials aren't taking responsibility, and something must be done.
However, in an interview Thursday, Schweitzer made clear that he wasn't talking about Montana "reaching into our pockets" to pay. He suggested the federal government take the money it would be spending on hazing and slaughtering and use it on annual payments to ranchers.
Every year, bison leave Yellowstone to search for forage. Many of the park's bison have brucellosis, and Montana ranchers worry that bison could spread the disease to cattle. This could lead to trade sanctions. Brucellosis, a disease that some elk in the region also carry, can cause cows to abort.
Mike Manship, owner of Red Creek Ranch on Hebgen Lake, said bison should be placed in their natural environment in eastern Montana or at least moved to public land somewhere.
Schweitzer countered that the bison population can be controlled to where it won't be a problem through hunts. "We can get that down to a manageable number," he said. "A lot of people want to shoot these bison."
One landowner asked how many bison could be killed in a single hunting season.
"Well, we hauled 1,000 to slaughter this year," Schweitzer responded. "That doesn't make any sense."
The National Park Service this year shipped 849 bison to slaughter, while the state Department of Livestock sent off a few dozen. The activist Buffalo Field Campaign, which closely monitors agency actions and bison, has tallied just under 950 dead bison since last September, a figure a spokeswoman for the group says includes bison killed during the three-month bison hunt and agency removals.
Asked whether a bison hunt could create a tourist boycott and bad press from national media, Schweitzer said tourists will continue to visit Montana.
"If people were going to be angry with us, then they would have been angry with us this year when we sent 1,000 of them to slaughter," he said.
Schweitzer said Thursday that he favored an expanded bison hunt, but didn't elaborate on how much he'd like to see it grow, saying he wanted to hear what others had to say. In November, Montana held its first hunt in 15 years of bison that leave the park.
