Between the Bullets and the Bison
by Chris Clarke

The world's oldest national park was the scene of deadly conflict this winter, as animal rights activists on snowmobiles dodged hunters' bullets to protect Yellowstone's bison - the last unfenced, free-roaming herd in the US.

Bison (also called buffalo) traditionally leave Yellowstone during winter to forage in the lower valleys fringing the park. In the century since the park was established, however, these lands have been taken over by ranchers for summer cattle grazing.

Montana's Department of Livestock (DoL) contends that these wandering bison could expose ranchers' cattle to brucellosis, a disease known to cause spontaneous abortion in infected cattle and a debilitating chronic fever in humans. The DoL claims that containing the disease requires the elimination of any bison that stray from the park boundaries. In 1997, the DoL killed 1,088 bison - one-third of Yellowstone's herd.

This winter, Buffalo Nations, a coalition of native and animal-rights activists, gathered at the park boundaries to drive the bison away from the guns of the DoL's marksmen - employing an assortment of civil disobedience tactics more commonly associated with campaigns to protect whales and old-growth forests.

On January 21, two Buffalo Nations activists were cited for trespass after attempting to interfere with DoL capture of bison. The next day, a Buffalo Nations volunteer chained his neck to a livestock trailer holding four captured bison that were being sent to slaughter.

On January 29, Buffalo Nations co-founder Michael Mease and a fellow activist risked their lives by driving snowmobiles between wandering bison and the rifles of the DoL's gunmen.

In February, six bison - three cow-calf pairs - were shot while five other bison were captured and sent to slaughter.

Meanwhile, the DoL has come under fire for driving confused bison through residential areas and, on one occasion, opening fire on bison in heavy fog - while activists and others stood dangerously near the line of fire.

The Associated Press revealed that nearly half of the meat from the supposedly "infected" bison killed in 1996 was sent to food banks, homeless shelters and Native American communities. The DoL made $150,000 auctioning the rest of the meat to slaughterhouses that turned it into "beef" jerky and hamburger meat that was sold to consumers in Texas, New Jersey and California.

The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the federal agency charged with control of brucellosis, has targeted 1998 as the year in which they hope to eradicate brucellosis from wild and domestic animal populations in the US. This is an unrealistic and politically-driven goal.

Relations between Montana state officials and Yellowstone National Park staff are strained at best. On one occasion, when a Park ranger asked a question about brucellosis testing, a DoL agent snapped, "We are not giving any information to you bleeding-heart liberals."

An Inflated Threat

The risk of brucellosis contagion is extremely small because the disease is transmitted primarily through contact with aborted fetuses and placenta. Wild bison bulls and calves pose no threat to livestock even if they are infected, which makes shooting them unnecessary. Bison cows are less likely to abort due to brucellosis than are domestic cattle. If they do abort, they do so several months before cattle are released onto public lands for summer grazing. Scavengers and weather remove Brucella bacteria long before any cattle are released on these lands.

Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt has called for an end to Montana's buffalo war, noting that "no cattle had ever been infected by Park bison." A 1998 National Academy of Sciences report concluded that while the possibility of brucellosis transmission from bison to cattle was extremely unlikely. Ironically, it is the DoL's extermination campaign that has increased the likelihood of transmission since infected bison are often held in pens near cattle. In addition, the DoL often leaves the infected entrails of killed bison behind on private lands where cattle, pets or children can get at them.

Alternatives to Slaughter

Several long-term strategies have been proposed to minimize risk to Yellowstone's bison while addressing concerns about brucellosis. The National Parks & Conservation Association and the Greater Yellowstone Coalition advocate creating a series of quarantine boundaries following traditional bison migration patterns. Ranchers near the park, many of whom are sympathetic to the plight of the bison, have offered to vaccinate their cattle against the disease. Expanding the bison range through buyouts of private lands and conservation easements has also been suggested.

The Inter-Tribal Bison Cooperative [PO Box 8105, Rapid City, SD 57709, (605) 394-9730] - which coordinates bison restoration and ranching efforts among 40 member tribes throughout the west and Alaska - advocates a controlled hunt whenever bison numbers outstrip the range's carrying capacity and the humane capture and relocation of stray bison.

Bison Belong, a group of more than a hundred local businesses, argues that free-roaming bison need not mean economic disaster for the area and have called on DoL to abandon the notion that bison must be treated as livestock.

Any brucellosis control plan must make infected elk the top priority. There are 30 elk for each bison in the Greater Yellowstone Area and elk are more likely to be infected with brucellosis.

As Michael Mease put it: "Until buffalo are treated like all other wildlife and their fate is no longer controlled by the Montana DoL, Buffalo Nations will be here to protect our children's heritage."

What You Can Do: Express your concerns to Larry Peterson, Montana DoL, Helena, MT 59620, (404) 444-2023. For more info, contact Buffalo Nations [PO Box 957, West Yellowstone, MT 59758}]. Michael Mease's documentary on the bison slaughter is available from Cold Mountains, Cold Rivers [(406) 728-0867].