IMPORTANT BISON MANAGEMENT NEWS


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Posted by Ballpark Frank (69.178.8.75) on 13:51:49 01/31/16

beej, and any other interested parties,

I have not seen this item appear on the chat pages I frequent, so I am making sure it is made available to anyone who is not aware of the Public Comment Period, which is open from 1/13/16 to 2/15/16.

This is the "silver lining" on the recently announced update to the bison management plan. The EA covers 3 alternatives, one of which is the typical "No action". The second alternative is the establishment of a quarantine facility within the Designated Surveillance Area (DSA). That is the rather large geography that includes the GYE and quite a bit of adjacent land in western Idaho, south central Montana, and northwest Wyoming, where cattle have a potential exposure to brucellosis-infected bison and elk. The third alternative, which is identified as the "preferred alternative", is to create a quarantine facility on the Fort Peck reservation in Montana, administered by the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes.

What makes this a big deal is that if the preferred alternative is implemented, the NPS will be able to stop shipping brucellosis free bison to slaughter, and instead, ship them to a place where they will be respected as a resource for native peoples, restoring a historic link.

If you have an intense interest in Yellowstone bison management, you have an opportunity to have your voice heard, but you only have until 2/15/16 to get it done.

Regardless of your stand on the issues or interest in submitting a comment on the EA, the 130 page document is incredibly information rich. I've only gotten through the first 22 pages, and already, I have accessed a host of information on the Corwin Springs quarantine facility and process that I was unaware of. I have also read more detailed information on the participation of associated tribes in the IBMP process than I have ever seen anywhere else. These are just examples of the abundance of germane information for anyone who is very interested in the Yellowstone bison management process and associated issues.

I also posted this on the Up Close and Personal chat page to maximize exposure.

Ballpark




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