View Full Version : Yellowstone officials propose to kill 1,000 bison this winter
mojaveman
11-18-2015, 15:24
Yellowstone National Park proposes to kill roughly 1,000 wild bison this winter - mostly calves and females - as officials seek to reduce the animal's annual migration into Montana.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/11/18/yellowstone-park-proposes-killing-1000-bison-this-winter/
Streck-Fu
11-19-2015, 08:44
"If there was more tolerance north of the park in Montana for wildlife, particularly bison as well as other wildlife, to travel outside the park boundaries, it wouldn't be an issue."
Are the animals a problem or nuisance to land owners in Montana?
x SF med
11-19-2015, 09:53
I have no clue why BLM/NPS would do that.... rather than just outright killing them, sell them to the Bison Ranchers or tribes that want them. If they're going for a kill, make a tag lottery, a cow Bison is a LOT of meat, a killer hide and the sinews and bones are all useable. Bison tongue is called "Crow Candy" around here, and Bison heart makes outstanding chili...
Team Sergeant
11-19-2015, 11:00
I have no clue why BLM/NPS would do that.... rather than just outright killing them, sell them to the Bison Ranchers or tribes that want them. If they're going for a kill, make a tag lottery, a cow Bison is a LOT of meat, a killer hide and the sinews and bones are all useable. Bison tongue is called "Crow Candy" around here, and Bison heart makes outstanding chili...
You're making sense. Stop now before I call DHS/BLM and report you!
And remember, "Feelings are more important than facts!"
It's a very poorly worded article that leaves much to the imagination in regards to just what is going to happen with the excess buffalo.
mark46th
11-19-2015, 17:30
The problem with the buffalo is that they carry Brucellosis. It doesn't affect the buffalo but if they come into contact with cattle, Brucellosis causes cattle to abort their calves. In the winter, the buffalo do what buffalo do and migrate outside the Park boundries where they can come into contact with cattle.
Culling buffalo herds is not uncommon. Other parks like Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota have a hunt that is available to the public.
The problem with the buffalo is that they carry Brucellosis. It doesn't affect the buffalo but if they come into contact with cattle, Brucellosis causes cattle to abort their calves. In the winter, the buffalo do what buffalo do and migrate outside the Park boundries where they can come into contact with cattle.
Culling buffalo herds is not uncommon. Other parks like Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota have a hunt that is available to the public.
Big time problem. Rancher have complained for years that the winter migrations are killing their range herds and the BLM has thumbed their nose,, now they have flipped..
Me thinks there are other problems not stated??
It might be worded to get the tree-huggers & PITA in a tizzy, then have berry come to the rescue and stop it.
They need a permitted culling season EVERY YEAR, to keep the herds at sustainable levels,, same goes for the Mule Deer & Elk..
:munchin
Here is the NPS take on Bison management. A simple search brings up very little that is of a recent nature concerning this issue.
http://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/bisonmgnt.htm
Bison go thru barbed wire fences as if it wasn't there...they destroy ranchers controlled fence lines and introduce diseases that do not normally exist in controlled cow populations.
The Fed needs to control it's herds as any neighbor would.
I've had the opportunity to 'herd' bison on a Canadian ranch...it is like herding MIAI tanks....not a fun prop horseback and dangerous as all hell.
x SF med
11-20-2015, 07:47
...
They need a permitted culling season EVERY YEAR, to keep the herds at sustainable levels,, same goes for the Mule Deer & Elk..
:munchin
In Western Washington, my wife's uncle gets 5 nuisance tags for Elk... too bad almost the entire herd in his area had hoof rot...
I belong to rocky Mountain elk foundation, have for a few years now, and they believe in culling but not over-killing, conservation of habitat and access to public lands for hunting...
Mulies can be like ovine rats... they'll ruin an area if not controlled through culling.
Buffalo ranchers have to put up some strong fences, really strong fences - If the NPS wants free-roaming buffalo, allow controlled culling hunts to control the population and be a good neighbor to the ranchers in the West Yellowstone area .... hmmmm, controlled Buffalo hunts 2 hours from me.... could be interesting, need to get a Sharps though... or a long barrel 45-70... or a Model 70 in .338...
mark46th
11-21-2015, 20:35
There are several free roaming buffalo herds in western Canada. A friend of mine hade to wait for two hours while a herd crossed the road on a trip from Alaska...
mojaveman
11-21-2015, 22:12
....hmmmm, controlled Buffalo hunts 2 hours from me.... could be interesting, need to get a Sharps though...or a long barrel 45-70...
Like this?
TOMAHAWK9521
11-24-2015, 09:15
In Western Washington, my wife's uncle gets 5 nuisance tags for Elk... too bad almost the entire herd in his area had hoof rot...
Mulies can be like ovine rats... they'll ruin an area if not controlled through culling.
.
Elk are more known for pushing out the mulie population and destroying the vegetation like locust over here in the Rocky mountains. Well, the central Rockies, anyway. Up north, the wolf reintroduction program made a significant impact on the elk populations, including the decimation of what was once the largest elk herd near Jackson Hole, WY.
Speaking of culling and elk..
Just found this video..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLCOEHNc50o
x SF med
11-26-2015, 09:31
Give me your uncles number and I will be more than happy to help him out with his problem.
Not good eating, apparently with the excessive hoof rot, there are other systemic complications that make those elk inedible... who woulda thunk that elk could get waterlogged?
Took these pics around Jackson Hole and the Gros Ventre range over Christmas 2012. Saw plenty of Elk.
These pics were of a herd of bison, just north of Jackson Hole, up near the airport.
lol Next time I go to my shack (if I can remember to bring a camera), I'll take a pic or two of the herd on the side of the road enroute. Really surprised me, first time I saw it. Good-sized herd, as well.
There's a camel on the side of the other road to my hooch (the Cherokee Trail of Tears). Pretty sure there used to be a zebra out there, too.
mark46th
11-28-2015, 22:09
Elk is normally delicious. Bad news if those diseases affect the meat....
TOMAHAWK9521
11-29-2015, 09:20
Took these pics around Jackson Hole and the Gros Ventre range over Christmas 2012. Saw plenty of Elk.
Not bad. But compared to the 11,000 head that used to be found there, that's not very many. The wolves took a majority of them out for breakfast, lunch and dinner, while many others scattered, leaving roughly 3000 remaining in the area.
As I understand it, the locals are both relieved and pissed. Relieved because their trees and gardens are no longer being browsed to death and pissed because that giant herd was a major draw for tourists.