And now:Sonja Keohane <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Please note this:
Comments on the environmental assessment will be taken until Jan. 13. The
study is available from the Forest Service by calling (406) 329-3028 or on
the Internet at www.fs.fed.us/r1/gallatin
<http://www.billingsgazette.com/regionframe.htm>
FS releases report on bison facility
By JOE KOLMAN
Gazette Bozeman Bureau
BOZEMAN - A bison capture facility near West Yellowstone will likely affect
bald eagles, could displace grizzly bears and might serve as a lightening
rod for those opposed to the way the shaggy giants are being managed,
according to an environmental report released this week by the Forest
Service.
But the report said the pen may also reduce the number of bison killed in
what is expected to be a harsh winter. Bison that wander out of Yellowstone
National Park and into the state Department of Livestock's trap would be
tested for brucellosis. Those testing negative for the disease, which
causes cattle to abort their calves, would be marked and released.
Positive animals would be shipped to slaughter.
Earlier this month, Gallatin National Forest Supervisor Dave Garber granted
the Livestock Department's request to operate a pen at Horse Butte through
the end of January. But because the pen sits within a half mile of a bald
eagle nesting site, the agency's request to operate the facility from
February through April of 1999 and continue for up to 10 years had to
undergo an environmental assessment.
Bald eagle nesting activity is considered to begin about February 1.
According to the report, there are three bald eagle nests along Hebgen Lake
in the vicinity of Horse Butte. While the nests have been active, the pair
nearest the proposed bison pen has not reproduced since 1992.
Operation of the pen, which would include hazing by snowmobile, increased
traffic for plowing roads and hauling bison, may disturb nesting bald
eagles and could displace grizzly bears when they are not denning, the
report said. But it added that current activity in the area makes it
difficult to determine what effects the facility may have.
The proposed pen is near residential areas and is highly used for
recreation such as snowmobiling. Between 100 and 150 snowmobiles per day
use the 30 miles of groomed trails in the area, the report said.
Restrictions proposed in the study include no hazing by helicopter and no
hazing or shooting of bison within quarter mile of the Horse Butte bald
eagle nest, except from roads or groomed snowmobile trails.
Beyond environmental impacts, the facility could have social and economic
effects, the study said. Snowmobilers could willingly or unwillingly
interfere with operations and law officers will be on hand to ensure
security.
While the study said West Yellowstone's winter economy would likely not be
affected, it added that, "Interest groups opposed to the capture facility
and removal of bison may suggest 'boycotts' of the West Yellowstone area.
Predicting the effects of such actions is difficult and beyond the scope of
this analysis."
The Livestock Department is proposing the pen as part of an interim
management plan that calls for bison entering Montana to be captured,
tested and released or sent to slaughter or shot. Some bison carry
brucellosis and while there has not been a case documented of transmission
in the wild between bison and cattle, scientists maintain there is still a
risk.
Those in the livestock industry point out that the state's cattle producers
spent millions of dollars over many years to obtain a brucellosis free
status and to lose it would be devastating to business.
But opponents of the bison pen say even if there is a scientific risk of
transmission, the point is mute because there are no cattle in the West
Yellowstone area during the winter months.
"The whole thing's just not logical," said Dave Ritchey, who lives about a
half mile from the pen and is one of the locals who opposes the facility.
"But there's nothing we can do and there never has been."
Comments on the environmental assessment will be taken until Jan. 13. The
study is available from the Forest Service by calling (406) 329-3028 or on
the Internet at www.fs.fed.us/r1/gallatin
