Montana Governor Disappoints Park Official Racicot Blamed Agencies For Continued Killing Of Bison

The superintendent of Yellowstone National Park says he is “surprised and disappointed” that Gov. Marc Racicot is blaming federal agencies for the continued killing of buffalo that migrate out of the park into Montana.

“All we can imagine is that you are misinformed on some important points or that you have been badly misrepresented in the press,” Michael V. Finley said in a letter to Racicot on Saturday.

Finley said the bison must be a shared responsibility: “You cannot simply disavow responsibility for them.”

He said he hopes Montana has not given up on a cooperative effort, and he and his staff intend to work with state officials.

The letter was prompted by Racicot’s comments in an interview Thursday, when Racicot called on President Clinton to step in.

“These are America’s bison, Mr. President. Get involved,” Racicot said.

Racicot said Clinton is the only one with the authority to order two federal agencies involved in managing the bison to find an alternative to shooting the animals or shipping them to slaughter when they leave the park.

More than 700 bison have been killed this winter, far surpassing the previous record of 569 in the winter of 1988-89.

The National Park Service has a policy of not managing wildlife within parks, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has threatened to withdraw Montana’s brucellosis-free status if infected bison are allowed into the state.

Racicot said Clinton should immediately demand the two agencies develop a program for shipping captured bison that test negative for brucellosis to a quarantine facility, rather than to slaughter.

The president also should demand the park service begin managing bison before they leave the park and launch a program to eradicate brucellosis from the Yellowstone herd, the governor said.

“This is a federal problem,” he said. “Frankly, it’s their responsibility.”

Finley said the bison are “America’s bison” only as long as they are in the park.

“When they migrate into Montana, by operation of basic wildlife law, these bison belong to the people of Montana,” he wrote. “This is important because the people of Montana rightly and enthusiastically welcome elk, mule deer and other species that cross this same boundary, and once those animals are in Montana they are no longer regarded as ‘Yellowstone elk’ or ‘Yellowstone mule deer.’

“We must point out that these bison, part of the same large ecosystem as te elk and deer, should be a shared responsibility among all management agencies; you cannot simply disavow responsibility for them.”

Finley also said he has, on many occasions, expressed his determination to work with Montana officials to find a solution. He said Racicot seemed to agree as recently as Jan. 20, in a letter to Finley.

“Now, four days later, from quotations in the media, you seem to have abandoned that spirit of cooperation, and without further communication or discussion with us, want to have the matter resolved by people in Washington, D.C.,” Finley said.