Stop the Needless Slaughter of Hundreds of Bison!
- by: Defenders of Wildlife
- recipient: Governor Steve Bullock and Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk
The killing may begin any day, and it has the potential to be the worst slaughter of wild bison since 2008 when 1,600 bison were sent to their deaths simply for roaming outside Yellowstone's boundaries.
Yellowstone is home to the most important herd of wild bison in North America. Agencies plan to slaughter up to 900 of this 4,900-strong herd in the next few months, once again preventing the herd's expansion and setting back bison restoration.
Bison are icons of the American West. Slaughtered by the millions a century ago, they were driven to the brink of extinction. Today, we have an opportunity to reverse this national wildlife tragedy.
Tell Governor Steve Bullock and Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk to stop the slaughter and let bison roam outside of Yellowstone National Park!
I am saddened to learn that Yellowstone National Park plans to once again transfer many of Yellowstone's wild bison to slaughter as they roam out of the park and into Montana. This is an unnecessary tragedy directly resulting from Montana's failure to approve a plan to expand the wild bison "tolerance zone" north and west of the park where more bison may roam and Yellowstone National Park's failure to complete a plan to relocate bison to new areas rather than ship bison to slaughter. Both failures are rooted in the outdated Interagency Bison Management Plan that arbitrarily limits bison numbers and habitat in the Yellowstone ecosystem.
I ask that you both move as quickly as possible to rectify this ongoing failure.
[Your comments here]
Governor Bullock, please champion bison conservation and restoration by shutting down the transport of bison to slaughter as your predecessor, Governor Brian Schweitzer, did in 2011 and 2012. Please give these bison more room to roam by adopting Alternative B of the Environmental Assessment on Year-round Habitat for Yellowstone Bison. This alternative allows year-round access for bison in the greatest area with no restriction on numbers.
Superintendent Wenk, please move quickly to complete the Environmental Assessment on an operational quarantine/relocation process. Yellowstone bison are much too valuable to ship to slaughter when they could be used to start new desperately needed conservation herds on tribal and public lands elsewhere, including other Department of Interior lands as outlined in the Department's Bison Conservation Strategy.
Governor Bullock and Superintendent Wenk, please also use your authorities to expedite a new Interagency Bison Management Plan. Knowledge of brucellosis and bison management has improved tremendously in the last two decades, and the changes must be reflected in the way bison are managed. Working together, the state of Montana and the National Park Service can create a new future for bison; that process should begin now.
It's time for a new vision that is not rooted in prejudice and fear. Nobody wants to see wanton, unnecessary slaughter of Yellowstone's wild bison. The right decision is to prevent this needless slaughter and let real conservation solutions happen. The future of Yellowstone bison and bison restoration to additional locations depends on it.
You are the two people standing between the deaths of these animals and a future where Yellowstone bison are part of Montana's wildlife heritage. Please take action to immediately intervene in this matter and use the weight of your offices to expand year-round tolerance zones for Yellowstone's bison, use relocation rather than slaughter, and revise the outdated Interagency Bison Management Plan.
Sincerely,
[Your name here]
By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.
Having problems signing this? Let us know.