INFORMATION FOR THE MEDIA FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 20, 1997 97-50
Federal agencies and the state of Montana have agreed upon an approach to manage brucellosis and the Yellowstone bison population, state and federal officials announced today.
The agreement reached between the state of Montana, the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service achieves the purpose statement agreed upon by the parties which is "to maintain a wild, free-ranging population of bison and address the risk of brucellosis transmission to protect the economic viability of livestock interests in the state of Montana."
State and federal officials met this week to discuss an environmental impact statement for management of the Yellowstone bison herd, and agreed upon a "preferred alternative," which included the following:
* capture and shipment to quarantine of animals testing negative. Those animals would then be made available to American Indian tribes to help establish herds.
* capture of bison to control movement onto private lands.
* bison hunting in certain situations.
* vaccination of bison when a vaccine is developed.
"The agreement is a major breakthrough in the on-going bison management issue," said John Cook, Director of the National Park Service Intermountain Region. "The interagency team worked diligently and cooperatively to develop the range of alternatives from which this agreement is drawn," he noted. "All of us are greatly pleased with this agreement."
The draft Environmental Impact Statement, which will detail the "preferred alternative" and other options for managing the brucellosis threat and the Yellowstone bison herd, will be released for public comment later this summer.