Where the Buffalo Roam

They roam on Horse Butte adjacent to Yellowstone National Park. Bison go there to give birth, and feed on the fresh green grass after a hard winter. You would think that since there are no cattle or horses on Horse Butte the US Forest Service would leave them in peace. NOT! The hazing of bison using helicopters takes place each year after May 15th, and each year the bison are senselessly chased away at the risk of injuring small calves and adults. The ostensible reason is to control the spread of Brucellosis abortus, a bacterium which causes bison and cows to abort pregnancies. Only one problem with that reasoning. There has never been a confirmed case of transmission of the disease from bison to cattle in the wild. Recent science on the subject indicates the risk is very small outside of Yellowstone in Montana. If that were not enough reason to stop the waste of money spent on the hazing operation, Gallatin National Forest recently decided to close the only remaining grazing allotment on Horse Butte.

It is time to expand the boundaries of Yellowstone--or at least create buffer zones on the Park's boundaries--to give the genetically unique wild bison herd more protected space in which to roam. The 3,000 or so Yellowstone bison are the foundation to reestablishing the bison to its historic range because they have not been interbred with cattle. In the meantime the senseless harassment of these potent symbols of wild America should cease. You can help end the practice by sending a signal to Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack asking him to let the buffalo enjoy Horse Butte undisturbed this spring.

[photo: courtesy Wyoming Secretary of State]