Op-Ed. By Stephany J. Seay. Buffalo Field Campaign. West Yellowstone, Montana
GNF Supervisor Mary Erickson’s morbid sense of humor claims renewal of the Department of Livestock’s permit for the Horse Butte bison trap is a “tool of tolerance.” It certainly fits with Governor Schweitzer’s interpretation of “more tolerance” for wild bison; all we’ve seen from his Administration is a canned hunt and the largest-scale slaughter since the 1800s.
The private/public Horse Butte peninsula is 100% cattle-free; residents welcome buffalo and oppose the trap and DOL’s presence. At the dawn of the Adaptive Management Plan (AMP) crafted by IBMP partners, the trap is a serious contradiction. But, the brucellosis argument is full of contradictions.