HELENA -- Bison-protection activists urged Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Tuesday to join them in attacking disease in Yellowstone National Park bison and end the hazing, capturing and killing of the animals as they leave the park.

Schweitzer, who earlier this month halted a planned bison hunt this winter, said he agrees that ridding the herd of brucellosis should be a priority, but he also said that hunting must be a part of population control beyond Yellowstone's borders.

He and representatives of the Buffalo Field Campaign agreed the bison need more room to roam outside the park on public land, but Schweitzer warned the group's leaders that allowing a more free-ranging herd must not jeopardize Montana's status as a brucellosis-free state.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and state veterinarians around the country, must continue to be assured that permitting bison carrying brucellosis to remain outside the park in Montana will not pose a threat of transmitting the disease to Montana cattle, he said.

The meeting at the Capitol was the first between the new governor and the organization that has spearheaded efforts to stop migrating bison from being killed and promote expanded range for the animals outside Yellowstone.

The issue of what to do with the bison has been a problem for more than 15 years.
As the Yellowstone herd has grown, more of the animals wander from the park in search of winter forage. Some estimates are that half the herd has brucellosis, but bison activists argue that less than one out of five are infected with the disease. It can cause cows to abort.

Ranchers fear transmission of the disease to their cattle could cause severe financial damage to their industry, although critics contend such transmission has never occurred in the wild.

Flo Gardipee, a doctoral student in fish and wildlife biology at the University of Montana, told Schweitzer that biological tools to combat brucellosis are in the works and that plans to eradicate the disease through vaccinations are not practical.

Schweitzer agreed. "Vaccine as a tool by itself is like throwing salt in the ocean," he said.
Ron Hunter, a spokesman for the clothing manufacturer Patagonia, said the company is a supporter of the Buffalo Field Campaign because the wild bison deserve to be protected.

Darrell Geist, a campaign member, said Schweitzer's willingness to cancel the immediate bison hunt garnered support from conservationists and the governor should take the next step of pressuring the Forest Service to provide land adjacent to Yellowstone on which the bison can roam.

Schweitzer endorsed that idea, while promising that hunting will always be part of the overall bison management scheme. He hinted that such hunts will never be the typical outings that sportsmen experience in stalking "wily whitetail" deer or elk, since the bison are not as wary of humans as other big game.

The governor also said he would like to see some genetically pure and disease-free bison moved to American Indian reservations in Montana to allow herds to grow elsewhere.

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