Trad Gang

I saw a show the other day about buffalo hazing from Montana to Yellowstone.  What's up with that?  Do they ever give anyone opportunities to hunt bison instead of chasing them with helicopters?  The show I saw was biased so I wondered if there were any Montana hunters that have an idea why the heck this happens from a different perspective?

Hazing buffalo BACK into the park is done by the Dept. of Livestock...a state agency that is primarily concerned about the spread of brucelosis from the buffalo into grazing lands and surrounding cattle herds.   This is a HUGE issue in the cattle industry, which is still the number one business in the state of MT.  

The MT dept of Fish,Wildlife, and Parks does conduct buffalo hunts on a limited basis, when too many buffalo leave the park beyond the buffer zone where hazing takes place.  This whole issue is quite an awkward "dance" of sorts to appease the buffalo "protection" groups, and the livestock industry, and a number of various "in-betweeners" happy, IMO.  

Years ago, the Park Service treated buffalo like cattle, and "managed" the herd size and health.  When the Park's mandate changed to one of letting "mother nature" take it's course, that's when much of the current problems began here.  From buffalo, to fires, to wolves, to bears....and I'm not really against all that, but it's allowed a bunch of fringe idealist type groups to get involved and muddy up good policy.

We used to have, back in the 70's, a regular season for free-ranging buffalo that wandered out of the park into the national forest lands.  No one was concerned about brucelosis then....hmmm.   No one cared that hunters killed buffalo then....hmmm.  How times change.  

Too bad that wolves won't kill buffalo as readily as they do elk.

"Hey Pea...You ever chase buffalo?"

 :D

"Hey Pea...You ever chase buffalo?"

 "You mean get us one for our supper?"
 
   One of my favorite movies.
 
   :thumbsup:

thanks for the info! I knew I'd get a straight answer from you guys.

That's really sad when you think how things are turning.  There really aren't to many opportunities to hunt free ranging buffalo in the USA.  

On the flip side....a friend of mine from whom I just bought a longbow that was too heavy for him, is a retired Highway Patrolman, and now in his "retirement" job, he works for the Dept. of Livestock and is one of those guys you see on horseback chasing buffalo back in YNP.  He says it's a dream job for him, a bit of adventure, riding horses and chasing buffalo.

That would be pretty awesome.

I don't know if it changed but I believe at least a few years ago the hunt/taq was rifle only too.

Not only a designated rifle hunt, but I believe you have to use a .30 Caliber or bigger.  

When I was in college in the mid 90's I remember an activist throwing a 5 gallon bucket of Bison guts on a press conference table that the Govenor was sitting at.  It made for good amusement for a bunch of us wildlife biology students...

Mark, Thanks for the info. Interesting topic that I had no idea existed.

I had never heard of it either and I just didn't like the idea of the government catching wild animals and sending them to slaughter.  But it shows what can happen without a good game management plan.