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Advocates tap Yellowstone stock in herd restoration effort |
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Written by Greenwire
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Wednesday, 30 July 2008 |
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More than a century after U.S. wild bison were hunted to the brink of
extinction, efforts are under way to repopulate parts of the West with
wild herds.
Government veterinarians are testing young bison for relocation
outside Yellowstone National Park. Those with clean bills of health
could be moved to American Indian reservations in Montana as soon as
this winter.
"Our goal is to put them back on the
landscape across the country, wherever state agencies and tribes can
manage them appropriately," said Jack Rhyan, a veterinarian with the
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Tens of millions of wild
bison once roamed in North America, but their numbers plummeted in the
19th century as settlers hunted the animals for food and sport. By the
1880s, only about 500 bison remained. To save them from extinction,
Teddy Roosevelt and others concentrated them in Yellowstone National
Park. About 2,100 wild bison lived in the park this spring.
Bison
advocates see the move as the first step to restoring the animals'
presence across broad parts of the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountain
West. But some ranchers say the animals would put their livestock at
risk for the disease brucellosis, which can cause pregnant cattle to
abort their calves. About half of Yellowstone's bison carry the
disease. Ranchers also say the bison would compete with their cattle
for grazing land.
"The 18th century is gone. It's not
coming back," said Jason Camp, a Montana cattle rancher who wants bison
confined to Yellowstone.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 30 July 2008 )
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