Vaccine urged for bison that leave park

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Montana Department of Livestock is proposing that some of the bison that leave Yellowstone National Park be vaccinated, a move intended to help reduce the potential spread of brucellosis.

The plan has upset some activists, who question the vaccine's efficacy and view a vaccination program as a waste of money.

The department prepared an environmental assessment that proposes vaccinating calves and yearlings that leave the park's western boundary and enter the state. Vaccination would take place "opportunistically," the document says, as a part of bison management activities. Wandering bison could still be captured, though the department said it does not propose stepping up capture operations as a way to boost the number of bison available for vaccination.

Comments on the proposed plan are being taken through Jan. 5. The department said it expects to make a decision by Jan. 31.

If approved, a program could be in place sometime this winter, department spokeswoman Karen Cooper said.

This wouldn't be the first time that Yellowstone bison have been vaccinated, but it is the first time the state of Montana has proposed vaccinating those that leave the park.

Last winter, federal officials began vaccinating some bison inside the park, near Yellowstone's northern boundary. Officials plan to continue that program this year, said Rick Wallen, a wildlife biologist at Yellowstone.

The debate over bison heats up each winter, when some of the bison leave Yellowstone in search of forage. Ranchers in Montana worry that bison will transmit brucellosis, a disease that can cause cattle to abort. But activists contend that there has not been a documented case of transmission from bison to cattle in the wild.

A joint state-federal management plan allows for the hazing and capture of bison that leave the park and for the testing of the animals for brucellosis. Bison testing positive are sent to slaughter.

Mike Mease of the Buffalo Field Campaign, a group of bison defenders, questions the efficacy of vaccine proposed and the cost of implementing a vaccination program.

"Why throw taxpayer money down the drain to keep a handful of ranchers happy?" he said.

He believes an emphasis should be placed on managing livestock, rather than attempting to manage wildlife.

But Steve Pilcher, executive vice president of the Montana Stockgrowers Association, said it's important to take steps to protect the livestock industry. He said his group has supported vaccination while realizing that efforts won't necessarily be 100 percent effective.

"But you don't use that as a reason not to try," he said Monda. "If you set your sights on failure, you know what the outcome will be."