Rangers in Yellowstone National Park have permission
from park brass to shoot bull bison headed out of the park this
winter. It is the first time in decades that rangers may, as a
matter of policy, kill wildlife they are charged with
protecting.
Park managers say the change is
intended to control disease, rather than population. A massive
elk-reduction campaign in Yellowstone in the 1960s resulted in
national outrage (HCN, 9/15/97). Rangers will act only as a last
resort when the animals seem intent on leaving the park and can’t
be chased back, says park spokeswoman Cheryl Matthews. “They’re
going to have to have one foot out of the park before we resort to
that.”
Bison are a target along Yellowstone’s
northern boundary because some may carry the disease brucellosis,
which can cause domestic cattle to abort their calves. Park
managers agreed as part of a legal settlement with the state of
Montana to kill bison exiting the park, although there is no proven
case of wild bison passing the disease to
cattle.
* Michael
Milstein
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Bison killing goes inside.
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