| Yellowstone Bison Slaughter
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| News
Article 2/22/05 |
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| Lawmakers
kill bison bill
By SCOTT McMILLION, Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer
2/22/05 |
A
bill that would have put wildlife managers in control
of Montana's controversial bison hunt has been killed
in the Montana House of Representatives.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Brady Wiseman, D-Bozeman,
would have required the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife
and Parks only to "consult" with the Montana
Department of Livestock on bison hunting.
Current law says DOL must approve any hunt before it can
move forward. That doesn't sit well with many bison advocates,
who say they want wandering bison treated like wildlife
instead of like livestock.
However, ranching interests in the state are uncomfortable
with removing DOL authority over the hunt, and last week
the Montana Stockgrowers Association and the Montana Farm
Bureau asked for amendments that restored DOL's veto power.
Early Saturday morning, Rep. Bill Warden, R-Bozeman, sponsored
amendments giving the Stockgrowers what they wanted.
"It pretty much reversed the bill," Wiseman
said Monday of the amendments.
The House Fish, Wildlife and Parks committee split evenly
along party lines rejecting the amendments, which means
they weren't adopted.
However, the overall bill also failed, also by a tie vote
along party lines.
Wiseman then tried to bring the bill to the House floor
for further action on Monday, but failed by a vote of
50 to 49, mostly along party lines. Bypassing the committee
required a 60 percent majority.
The bill, Wiseman said Monday, "is pretty much dead
meat."
He said transferring the hunt to FWP would not have made
any difference in how the risk of brucellosis is handled.
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