What Should Be The Fate Of Bison That Leave Yellowstone National Park?
How To Join The Stampede:
If you would like to join in on our conversation and share your thoughts, be sure to comment and follow us on social media using the hashtag #jointhestampedeLU. This is a burning issue in Yellowstone and Montana, and your thoughts are an important step in taking action to protect bison.
Learn more about bison leaving the park:
Gone are the days when millions of bison speckled the Great Plains. In an attempt to drive out the Native Americans, the federal government had bison slaughtered by the thousands. After facing near extinction, the bison have bounced back after being introduced into Yellowstone National Park. These symbols of the untamed American wilderness are cherished by visitors because of the glimpse the bison offer into our nation’s past and by native groups where bison hold immense cultural significance. All is not well in Yellowstone, however. The bison population continues to expand rapidly, and park officials are concerned about the bison overgrazing and taking food away from elk and other animals. This food competition gives rise to a new issue that troubles the park, surrounding ranchers, and even the state of Montana: the migration of bison out of the park. All groups involved recognize this as an important problem, but the possible solutions are enveloped in controversy and division. This controversy embodies the question, what should be the fate of the bison that leave the park? Please join us as we delve into potential solutions, including culling, letting the bison roam free, and translocation.
One proposed solution to the overpopulation of Bison in Yellowstone National Park is an annual culling of the bison managed by the Interagency Bison Management Program. Culling involves guiding herds of bison into enclosures near the park and then transporting them to slaughterhouses where they will be killed and their meat distributed to members of the tribal partners involved. Culling aims to reduce the 5,000 bison population in the park by 1,000. A common argument for culling is to prevent to spread of brucellosis to nearby cattle farms from the infected bison migrating out of the park. However, this argument is often discredited due to no reported instances of brucellosis spreading from bison to cattle (The Science Behind Yellowstone’s Bison Cull). Those against culling argue that it is cruel and threatens to eradicate the DNA of the original 25 bison that survived the mass killings in the 1800 and 1900s. Individuals against culling argue that the DNA of wild purebred Yellowstone bison are being lost in these large massacres. Some individuals and organizations agree that hunting is permissible, but believe that culling is unnecessary massacre. The Buffalo Field Campaign fights to stop culling as well as hunting and trapping of bison. An alternative argument for culling is that overpopulation of the bison is destroying the grassland and ecosystem of the park. Some culling advocates argue that because these bison destroy 70 to 90 percent of Yellowstone’s grasslands by grazing and uprooting the earth with their horns, these bison are destroying yellowstone’s ecosystem. Therefore, pro-culling advocates argue that allowing bison to overgraze will cause mass starvation of the wildlife in yellowstone and believe culling is an effective way to manage this issue.
Another argument to the fate of Yellowstone’s bison is letting them roam free. Like many other animals in the GYE, bison migrate during the winter to lower elevations in search of food. Following in the summer, bison migrate to the park’s higher elevations to feed. Arbitrary boundaries are drawn and in the search for food, bison are hazed, shot, or slaughtered for stepping across a line to Montana, Idaho, or Wyoming. Bison are not allowed to move freely outside Yellowstone due to fears they might transmit brucellosis to cattle and due to concerns of competition with cattle for grass, human safety, and property damage. National Park Service Rangers intercept and harass their migration, slaughtering over 6,000 bison since the year 2000. All native wildlife should be given priority on public lands, existing on their own terms in regards to herds maintaining and self-regulating sustainable populations. One organization fighting to instill these rights is the Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC). To stop the harassment and slaughter of Yellowstone’s bison, the BFC works in the fields as well as the policy arenas to protect the bison. Seen as one of our nation’s treasures, it is arguable to say that as a native wild animal, the bison should be able to roam free as they are unaware of any boundary restriction set by the states or parks.
Bison are hardy animals; they have a high survival rate, and wolves and other predators can’t keep the bison population in check through predation. Due to the park’s reluctance to continue culling and the firestorm surrounding letting potentially diseased bison roam free, Yellowstone National Park has suggested that bison could be transported to other areas. Under the quarantine program, the park would send bison off to research facilities in tribal areas or other parts of the country for brucellosis testing. Those that aren’t infected with brucellosis could be released into public lands. A couple issues surround this proposal, however. The potential program has received backlash from livestock agencies. Some also fear that the bison may face a worse fate in quarantine. According to the Buffalo Field Commision, bison drafted into the program’s feasibility study suffered for years while they waited to be released. Around half of the bison in quarantine ended up being killed. Those that survived were domesticated, roaming enclosed pastures instead of wide open plains.
What do you think? Do you believe the bison population should be kept in check through culling, or do you want the bison to roam free? What about sending the bison elsewhere? Before making a final decision, be sure to look through our sources listed below. These websites contain plenty of information on the topics covered. After reading our post and exploring these websites as well as others, we hope that you have a better understanding of the issues surrounding bison at Yellowstone. The mighty buffalo is our national mammal, and it is our duty as citizens to protect this relic of the wilderness. So, what do you say? Will you join the stampede?
Citations:
To learn more about culling:
High Country News. (2016). The Science Behind Yellowstone’s Bison Cull.
http://www.hcn.org/articles/the-science-behind-yellowstones-bison-cull
Yellowstone Park. (n/d). Culling the Last Wild Herd of Bison in Yellowstone National Park.
http://www.yellowstonepark.com/culling-last-wild-herd-bison/
The National Park Service: Yellowstone. (n/d.) Questions & Answers about Bison Management.
https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/bisonmgntfaq.htm
To learn more about allowing the bison to roam free:
Buffalo Field Campaign. (2016). Mission – Vision – Values.
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/who-we-are/mission-vision-values
The National Park Service: Yellowstone. (n/d.) Questions & Answers about Bison Management.
https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/bisonmgntfaq.htm
To learn more about transportation and quarantine:
Buffalo Field Campaign. (2016). Home – FAQ – What’s wrong with quarantining Yellowstone buffalo or bison? http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/faq/what-is-wrong-with-quarantining-yellowstone-buffalo-or-bison
The National Park Service: Yellowstone. (n/d.) Bison Management.
5 responses so far
Buffalo are a huge part of the Yellowstone Park. They are the animal I saw the most of as I was in Wyoming and Montana. I believe they should be protected and allowed to roam free. Scott opened my eyes to the history and meaning these animals hold to a lot of people in the West including himself. He sees the buffalo as a strong animal that wanders with freedom. Many of the Crow Indian rituals included the buffalo. After hearing the symbolism that many people in the West associate with the buffalo, it meant more to me than a cool animal I saw on the side of the road. It made me realize the importance this one animal holds for many people and to me that should not be disturbed through culling or relocating. Nature should be left to mature and evolve.
Thank you for sharing! It was really interesting to talk to Scott and see the significance of bison to his and other Native cultures. One interesting tidbit we learned on our trip dealt with Native rights to bison and letting the bison roam free. We learned that there haven’t been any documented cases of bison transmitting brucellosis to cattle while elk have transmitted the disease to cattle in the past and are allowed to leave the park. Interestingly, the bison have a different breeding period than cattle, reducing the chance of transmission the disease to cattle. If the bison were allowed to freely roam outside the park like elk, then perhaps Native groups like the Crow could more easily obtain bison for their rituals. Do you think allowing free roaming bison would be good for Native cultures or could it threaten livestock? Thanks again for your thoughts!
I think relocating is a healthy compromise between culling vs. roaming free. However, I do recognize that there are issues with relocating. A main issue after talking with Scott, is that the places they can relocate already has high numbers of buffalo, so it’s just increasing numbers elsewhere. I think the bison should be allowed to roam free, and free of harm. This land is as much their home as it is ours, and to do annually culling even if they say its to reduce brucellosis spreading to cattle (even though there has never been proof of them spreading it to cattle). Yes, there are a lot of bison, however, they do not harm anyone or anything they just graze. When they do attack it is because someone has broken the 25 yard rule, and did not respect the animals space. I wish you all the best of luck with post departure!
Thank you for your feedback! We were also able to talk to Scott about the issue of the bison of Yellowstone and it sounds like you covered a lot of ground with him! When we talked to him earlier this week he mentioned the significance of the buffaloes to his Native American culture and it was eye opening to be able to see such a strong stance on our issue. We agree that translocation does serve as the common ground to the argument of culling bison vs. letting them roam free. Although relocating has its own set of issues, it would be interesting to see if the issue of overpopulation would resolve itself if this option was more frequently implemented. Best of luck to you as well!
Thank you very much for sharing…
I wish you success in your work.