| Yellowstone Bison Slaughter
|
| News
Article 8/15/03 |
 |
| |
|
|
| Up
in Arms: Residents Angry Over Horse Butte Hazing
Op-Ed by Karrie Taggart
West Yellowstone News
8/15/03
|
In
the August 15th edition of the West Yellowstone News,
a letter to the
editor from Karrie Taggart was published. The letter indicated
that a group
of Horse Butte residents had formed an alliance with the
moniker Horse Butte
Neighbors of the Buffalo. A letter had been penned calling
for an end to the
hazing, penning, and killing of wild buffalo on the Butte.
A request was
made to meet with Governor Judy Martz and copies of the
letter, with 59
signatures attached, were posted to the Governor's office,
the Gallatin
National Forest, the Superintendent of Yellowstone National
Park as well as
the Montana Congressional Committee in Washington DC.
Last week, the Department of Livestock in conjunction
with Fish Wildlife and
Parks and the National Park Service hazed a lone bull
bison from the Horse
Butte area back into Yellowstone National Park. During
the summer and early
fall months, there is generally little hazing activity
because the bison
have already migrated back within the park boundaries.
At this time, there
are no active grazing allotments on National Forest land
surrounding the
Horse Butte residential area. Cattle are currently grazing
on private land
on the Butte.
The response that Taggart received from Governor Martz
"skirted the issues"
posed in the letter, Taggart said. No mention of a meeting
was made.
"Furthermore," Taggart stated, "this is
an issue with merit and none of
those items were addressed. There are no credible fiscal,
or scientific
reasons to justify hazing and we want to see management
of the herd
transferred back to wildlife biologists. You can't walk
or take a bike ride
on public land without worrying there is a hazing in progress."
The Horse Butte Neighbors of the Buffalo are currently
developing another
petition and plan to begin knocking on doors this coming
weekend to garner
support. This new petition will also accompany a revised
letter and be sent
to the Department of Livestock as well as the other agencies
responsible for
the content and enforcement of the Interagency Bison Management
Plan.
Top
of Page |
|
|
|
|
|
|
