Today, bison are making a comeback. And in Yellowstone National Park, which boasts the largest free-roaming herd in North America, the population swelled this year to the park's biggest on record. Park officials estimate that more than 4,900 bison lived within park boundaries this year, an increase of more than 700 from 2004.
But the bison may become the first casualty of their own success. In addition to other natural and human hazards, this year there is a hunt.
The herd size is almost 2,000 more than a 2002 National Academy of Sciences report recommended that the park rangeland could support, and as winter sets in, many bison will stray outside the park's boundaries to escape deep snow to forage on public and private lands in Montana. That worries ranchers and livestock officials who are concerned that large numbers of bison will compete with domestic cattle for food.
Additionally, they worry bison will transmit brucellosis, a disease that can cause domestic cattle to abort their calves. So far, there is no known instance of bison spreading the disease to cattle in the wild, but controlled studies have shown it is possible, said Rick Wallen, team leader for the bison ecology project at Yellowstone.
Elk also carry the disease, and they are known to sometimes pass it to cattle, but the elk population outside park boundaries is managed through hunting, Wallen said.
"Biologically, brucellosis can be transmitted from bison to cattle, but in the wild we don't have any evidence that it's occurred," Wallen said. "That's probably a testament to the aggressive risk-management strategies we have in place."
Under a 5-year-old cooperative management agreement reached by federal and state agencies, bison that wander outside park boundaries are subject to capture and testing. Animals that test positive are sent immediately to slaughter, while those without the disease are returned to the park. Yellowstone officials also regularly herd bison back inside the park's boundaries through a process called hazing. In the past decade, state and federal agencies have killed more than 2,400 Yellowstone bison in order to cull and manage the herd, Wallen said.
This year, Yellowstone bison can also be hunted.
First hunt since 1990: More than 6,000 people applied for 50 tags, marking the state's first organized bison hunt since 1990. Hunts were called off then because of the way in which they were conducted; game wardens led the hunters to specific targets, which sparked national outrage and created a public relations nightmare for state leaders.
This year's hunt, managed by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and the state's Department of Livestock, got under way Nov. 15, and it is being run differently, said Ron Aasheim, spokesman for Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
"It's more of a fair chase," Aasheim said. "We are prohibited by law to tell [hunters] where the bison are."
So far, hunters have shot 15 bison in the first round of the hunting season that ends Jan. 15. (Round two runs Jan. 16 to Feb. 15.) On opening day, a 17-year-old boy from Belgrade, Mont., claimed the first bison kill of the season.
State wildlife officials are keeping a close watch on the hunt, with an eye for how future bison hunts could be run successfully, Aasheim said.
"This is a pilot effort, really," he said. "We want to be able to manage bison in Montana as we do other big game animals. You just don't let a 1-ton animal roam around freely. They're hard on fences, hard on the land. They're a possible threat to the cattle industry. And they also can be a danger to people."
Opponents of the hunt, and of the state and federal bison management policy, say the hunt is unnecessary and cruel.
"In the context of the larger management scheme, we see this hunt as one more example of the state of Montana's intolerance for wild buffalo," said Dan Brister, project director for the Buffalo Field Campaign, a nonprofit group dedicated to protecting wild bison. Buffalo Field Campaign volunteers have been documenting the hunt on a daily basis. The group also tracks and documents instances of bison that are hazed or taken to slaughter.
Wasted opportunity? The popularity of Yellowstone bison could give Montana an economic boost, Brister said, if state and government officials would allow the animals to wander freely.
"Montana is squandering a golden opportunity. This is the only place where a free-roaming herd migrates," he said. "It could have an amazing impact on the local economy if they would allow buffalo to roam here. The majority of people who live on the outskirts of the park love having the buffalo here."
Brister said the hunt "sets a bad example" because the livestock industry is calling the shots. State officials say the hunt is one tool that can be effectively used for herd management.
He also said that shooting the bison is unfair because they are a species that has no protected habitat outside Yellowstone National Park.
"It's very difficult to watch as these buffalo are gunned down," he said. "It's not a pretty thing to watch."
When one bison is shot, the others in the nearby herd are affected, he said.
"The herd mates will come over to the downed animal. They'll try to lift the injured buffalo back onto its feet," he said. "Sometimes, they return the next day to the place where one of their herd mates was killed. It's very moving."
Aasheim points out that five other states, including Utah, allow bison hunts that attract little local or national attention.
"We understand these are Yellowstone bison and maybe they have a different meaning for people," he said. "We have no choice. We're required by state law to manage these animals. But we understand that these particular bison are special in the eyes of the public."
lchurch@citlink.net
Lisa Church
A bison herd grazes on the prairie near Firehole Lake in Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone is home to the largest free-roaming bison herd in North America, park officials say.
