State seeks comment on relocating bison from quarantine
by Joleen Tadej
Montana's Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking comment on a draft environmental assessment of a proposal to relocate a total of 88 brucellosis-free bison from a quarantine facility near Gardiner to a Montana ranch and a Wyoming state park.
The bison are part of a four-year old research projected directed by FWP and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Veterinary Services at a bison quarantine facility near Corwin Springs north of Yellowstone National Park.
Under the proposal, 74 bison would be relocated to the Green Ranch, operated by Turner Enterprises, west of Bozeman; and 14 to Wyoming's Guernsey State Park, southeast of Casper. Other possible alternatives include slaughtering some bison while keeping about 30 at the quarantine facility, and adjusting the number of bison shipped to the Green Ranch and Guernsey State Park.
Many Yellowstone bison are infected with brucellosis, a disease that causes some pregnant cows, including domestic cattle, to abort their young. The presence of brucellosis in the Yellowstone bison herd has been a source of concern for decades.
The aim of the project is to determine the feasibility of capturing, raising and breeding bison calves from Yellowstone National Park that are free of brucellosis exposure for the establishment of new wild herds.
In this phase of the program, officials offered quarantined bison and their calves to an agency or organization capable of caring for the animals for an additional five years. The recovery of some costs for maintaining bison for the study is provided by allowing those capable of caring for the animals to keep some bison offspring.
For more information visit FWP online at fwp.mt.gov. Click Recent Public Notices. Comments, which must be received by 5 p.m. Jan. 12, 2010, can be sent to Bison Translocation, Wildlife Division, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, P.O. Box 200701, Helena, MT 59620-0701, or via e-mail to QFBison@mt.gov. A public meeting to discuss the proposal and take comment is set for Jan 6, 2010 at FWP’s Region 3 office, 1400 S. 19th Ave., in Bozeman. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m.
The 2005 environmental assessment that authorized the bison quarantine study is also available online. For information call 406-444-7320.
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Montana's Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking comment on a draft environmental assessment of a proposal to relocate a total of 88 brucellosis-free bison from a quarantine facility near Gardiner to a Montana ranch and a Wyoming state park.
The bison are part of a four-year old research projected directed by FWP and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Veterinary Services at a bison quarantine facility near Corwin Springs north of Yellowstone National Park.
Under the proposal, 74 bison would be relocated to the Green Ranch, operated by Turner Enterprises, west of Bozeman; and 14 to Wyoming's Guernsey State Park, southeast of Casper. Other possible alternatives include slaughtering some bison while keeping about 30 at the quarantine facility, and adjusting the number of bison shipped to the Green Ranch and Guernsey State Park.
Many Yellowstone bison are infected with brucellosis, a disease that causes some pregnant cows, including domestic cattle, to abort their young. The presence of brucellosis in the Yellowstone bison herd has been a source of concern for decades.
The aim of the project is to determine the feasibility of capturing, raising and breeding bison calves from Yellowstone National Park that are free of brucellosis exposure for the establishment of new wild herds.
In this phase of the program, officials offered quarantined bison and their calves to an agency or organization capable of caring for the animals for an additional five years. The recovery of some costs for maintaining bison for the study is provided by allowing those capable of caring for the animals to keep some bison offspring.
For more information visit FWP online at fwp.mt.gov. Click Recent Public Notices. Comments, which must be received by 5 p.m. Jan. 12, 2010, can be sent to Bison Translocation, Wildlife Division, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, P.O. Box 200701, Helena, MT 59620-0701, or via e-mail to QFBison@mt.gov. A public meeting to discuss the proposal and take comment is set for Jan 6, 2010 at FWP’s Region 3 office, 1400 S. 19th Ave., in Bozeman. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m.
The 2005 environmental assessment that authorized the bison quarantine study is also available online. For information call 406-444-7320.
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