05/07/08 Bison blues part one

Buffalo are big animals and can cause big controversy. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be back in one minute to explain. Buffalo, like deer and antelope like to roam. But roaming off Yellowstone National Park can get them in trouble. As they migrate from the park they mingle with domestic cattle and increase the threat of brucellosis transmission to those cattle. Brucellosis is a disease that causes abortions in bovines and has been eradicated in most of the country but still can be a problem where the Yellowstone bison herd is present. According to an AP article in the Western Livestock Reporter, in 2000 an agreement between National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, APHIS, Montana Department of Livestock and Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks called for state and federal agencies to expand the area outside the park where bison can freely roam. But the expansion was never fully completed so since February 1,400 buffalo migrating into these areas have been removed or killed under a federal-state agreement to prevent spreading brucellosis to area cattle ranches. Since the problem wasn't in their backyard, House of Representatives Nick Rahall of West Virginia and Maurice Hinchey of New York called for a GAO report on the problem. The report criticized state and federal agencies for failing in expanding bison range area. Like always, a concerned group, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition chimed in with their comments. Tomorrow I'll give you a few more details and some of my remarks and thoughts on the situation. I'm Jeff Keane. Western Livestock Reporter 4/9/08