Harsh Winter, State’s Actions Kill Off Half of Park’s Bison

About half of Yellowstone National Park’s bison herd has been killed by harsh winter weather or slaughtered to prevent the spread of disease to Montana cattle, the Interior Department reports.

Of the 3,200 to 3,500 bison that started the winter, 1,300 to 1,500 remain, the department estimated. Hundreds have died of starvation or cold, and 1,059 have been shot or sent to slaughter as they left the park in search of food and wandered onto Montana land, the department said.

Ranchers fear the bison could spread the disease brucellosis to cattle that will graze on those lands this spring.

“Continued pointless killing by the state of Montana is threatening the future of this magnificent symbol of our nation’s commitment to conservation,” Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt said in a statement.

“This unacceptable killing of bison must stop. Between the ice and snow and what’s left of the harsh winter weather yet to come, and the continued killing by Montana, there is cause for serious concerns of just how many bison will survive,” he said.

Babbitt said he will hold a news conference Monday “to review federal proposals to save the last wild, free-roaming bison herd” at Yellowstone.