Posted by Sonja Keohane <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> : An opinion piece from the Bozeman Chronicle: This season's version of the "blame game". Who is to blame for the slaughter of the YNP bison? Racicot would like to blame the NPS, or more frequently APHIS or DOI. The blame for the slaughter rests solely at the feet of the governor of Montana - Racicot. He is the one who allows the cattle industry to dictate. It is the fight for the use of public grazing land, the cattlemen want cheap grazing and they are killing bison to get it. <http://database.newswest.com/cgi-bin/T3CGI.exe/bdc/bdcNews.taf?functi on=detail&Local_uid1=21330> By Chronicle Staff 12/10/1999 12:00:00 AM. Park winter use plan should be tossed Snowmobiling in Yellowstone National Park is a complicated and bitterly divisive issue. But a Park Service proposal to snowplow the road from West Yellowstone to Old Faithful for bus and car traffic has united warring factions in opposition to the plan. People of all political persuasions, from animal rights activists clad in plastic shoes and outrage to the most avid fans of high-marking, ear-splitting, exhaust-belching snowmobiles, find themselves holding their nose over the concept. Between the extremes are moderate politicians, from the commissioners of Gallatin and Park counties to Sen. Max Baucus, who described the plan as simply "nutty." Now enters Republican Governor Marc Racicot, who pointed out last week -- as have many others in the past -- that the plowing scheme is likely to funnel more bison into Montana, where they face a grim fate. -----see complete article at url above----