Number: 1996-08
WHEREAS, both wild bison and wild elk in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) are natural resources of national significance; and
WHEREAS, the GYE is comprised of unique areas in northwest Wyoming, northeast Idaho, and southern Montana; and
WHEREAS, federal and state attempts to cooperatively manage wild bison and elk herds in the GYE need improvement; and
WHEREAS, both wild bison and wild elk in the GYE have a variable rate of infection for brucellosis and that any public policy relating to brucellosis in wildlife must address both bison and elk; and
WHEREAS, it is generally accepted that wild ungulates originally contracted brucellosis from domestic cattle in the nineteenth century; and
WHEREAS, it is generally accepted that the risk of transmission of brucellosis from wild ungulates to domestic cattle on the range is extremely low and actual transmission of brucellosis from wildlife to domestic livestock in the wild has never been documented; and
WHEREAS, all previous efforts to eradicate brucellosis in wildlife within the GYE, through test and slaughter programs, have proven unsuccessful and the eradication of brucellosis in wildlife is not a realistic goal; and
WHEREAS, a test and slaughter program may reduce genetic diversity in GYE bison and elk herds; and
WHEREAS, winter feed grounds within the GYE harbor and spread brucellosis among wild ungulates, particularly elk; and
WHEREAS, the Federal Animal-Plant Health Inspection Service has a stated goal to eradicate brucellosis by the end of 1998 nationwide, which implies eradication in the bison and elk of the GYE; and
WHEREAS, brucellosis is not currently a public health hazard in the GYE; and
WHEREAS, vaccination for brucellosis of all domestic cattle in the GYE is presently not required by law; and
WHEREAS, grazing practices of domestic cattle on public land in the GYE often and unnecessarily place domestic cattle in proximity to wild bison and elk during the calving of wild ungulates; and
WHEREAS, there is a need to establish a Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Bison Management Plan (GYEBMP) that 1) includes sound biological principles, complete with herd size and harvest objectives; 2) includes a solution that addresses the groomed snowmobile trails that are unnatural corridors by which the bison leave Yellowstone National Park; and 3) addresses the inappropriate utilization of artificial hindrances that disrupt natural migration patterns such as, but not limited to, fences and cattle guards or hazing wild bison within or across political boundaries separating jurisdictionally different tracts of public lands;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation in its Annual Meeting assembled March 1-3, 1996 in West Palm Beach, Florida, supports free-ranging wild bison and elk herds in the GYE, both within Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, as well as on adjacent public lands outside the park; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation supports a GYEBMP, based on sound wildlife management principles, that will utilize regulated harvest and fair chase public hunts, outside of the national parks, as tools to perpetuate healthy sustainable wild bison herds within the GYE; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation also supports and encourages national and state cooperative efforts and policies that emphasize habitat enhancement, protection and/or acquisition to perpetuate healthy, sustainable populations of wild bison and elk within the GYE.