Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) is proposing to send healthy bison from Yellowstone National Park to tribes as part of an ambitious plan to rid the herd of brucellosis.

The plan involves testing every single bison for the disease. Those with signs of brucellosis would be destroyed or hunted while healthy animals would be sent to tribes or private landowners.

The testing of the park's 4,200 animals would take several years. When it is complete, the park would be repopulated with bison that were sent out or with their offspring.

Brucellosis is a concern in Montana because ranchers fear it will kill cattle if transmitted by bison. State officials are allowed to raze and kill bison that wander out of the park for this reason.

Get the Story:
Schweitzer's bison proposal faces obstacles (The Billings Gazette 1/19)

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