Changes for bison weighed, but court order looms

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) – The next steps in letting wild bison roam beyond Yellowstone National Park were laid out by government officials on Tuesday, after a tumultuous winter in which almost 900 of the animals were captured during their annual migration.

State and federal agency representatives suggested allowing bison into new areas west of Yellowstone, relocating bison to other parts of the state and vaccinating the animals against disease.

But overshadowing the discussions were a pair of court orders last week from a judge in Park County. State District Court Judge Nels Swandal halted an effort that had opened 75,000 acres in Montana's Gardiner Basin to bison.

The orders underscored continued resistance to free-roaming bison in Montana despite progress toward resolving concerns over a disease carried by the animals.

In the past, the debate over bison had centered on their potential to spread that disease, brucellosis, to cattle. Now, after at least 500 bison were allowed into the Gardiner Basin this year, the focus is shifting to the broader question of whether and where bison belong outside the park.

"There are some viable things to talk about with increasing habitat, but given ongoing litigation, we may get a court decision that reframes how far we can go," said Gallatin National Forest Supervisor Mary Erickson. The Forest Service is one of five federal agencies and three American Indian groups that oversee bison management in Montana.

State officials say they will contest Swandal's orders, which resulted from lawsuits filed by the Park County and a local livestock group. A hearing is set for next week.

Park County officials based their lawsuit largely on public safety concerns.

"It's just not going to be acceptable to have the sheer quantities (of bison) that we saw this spring," Park County Attorney Brett Linneweber said earlier this week. "That's not an acceptable risk. Bison are wild animals. What's the first they tell you when going into the park? 'Don't approach the animals.'"

Yellowstone's approximately 3,500 bison are prized as the most genetically pure descendants of the massive herds of the animals that once roamed most of North America. The species was driven to near-extinction in the late 19th century, and only in recent decades has the population grown large enough to spill into Montana.

Since 2000, more than 3,000 migrating bison from Yellowstone have been captured and slaughtered, under a federal-state agreement that sharply limits where the animals can roam.

That program is based on brucellosis prevention. Yet, proposals to relocate bison held in a government-operated quarantine for years to ensure they were disease-free also have run into resistance from the livestock industry and some state lawmakers.

As the latest group of more than 60 Yellowstone bison near the end of their quarantine period, it remains uncertain where or if they will be relocated.

"Is it really a Yellowstone bison issue, or is it a bison issue?" Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk asked Tuesday. "All they have is a stigma. They don't have a disease."

Only about 300 of the 875 bison captured this winter remain in captivity, park biologist Rick Wallen said Tuesday.

The animals had left the park in search of food at lower elevations in Montana. They have been held since late January at a holding facility along the park's northern border.

Hundreds faced slaughter until Gov. Brian Schweitzer intervened to stop the animals from being killed.

Schweitzer said he acted to prevent diseased animals from being shipped to areas that are now brucellosis-free. Blocking the shipments also achieved a longstanding goal of bison advocates staunchly opposed to the slaughter program.

Those released have been returning to the park, where warmer weather is melting the snowpack and uncovering grass for grazing.

On the west side of Yellowstone, state livestock agents expect to begin driving about 150-200 bison back into the park next week after earlier delays caused by late winter snows.

It would be next winter at the earliest before bison are given more room to roam in that part of Montana, a proposal livestock groups are likely to oppose.