[MCN] Court win for Yellowstone bison!

[Jeff Juel]

John, your conclusion on the bogus brucellosis issue is of course not 
new. I do like the social justice angle of your discussion. Stewing 
colonialization, racism, oppression of native peoples and lands.

And appropriation of public lands forage for welfare cowboys--all true. 
However, an elusive solution to one issue still remains: If wild bison 
roam free, the migratory ways of large herds would obliterate a LOT of 
private land values. Bison would not respect fences, highways, land 
ownership boundaries, etc. etc. etc. That's the biggest fear, and I 
think a lot of dialogue needs to happen.

And *congratulations***on gaining new NEPA analysis on the bison 
management plan. The "scope" of that EIS could address the tricky issues 
I raise above.

Jeff

On 7/1/2020 9:31 PM, John Meyer via Missoula-Community-News wrote:
> Hey Missoula,
>
> A quick note to let you know the Feds have agreed to prepare new NEPA 
> analysis for its Yellowstone bison management plan in response to our 
> lawsuit.
>
> The Court has scheduled a hearing on July 14 that will decide whether 
> bison can freely roam while the government prepares new analysis.
>
> Bison are America’s national mammal. Yellowstone is America’s first 
> National Park. It’s time to let bison freely roam on public land. The 
> government has been telling us for decades that bison cannot freely 
> roam because they carry a disease called brucellosis that could be 
> transmitted to cattle. Brucellosis causes cattle to abort, but there 
> has never been a documented case of a bison transmitting brucellosis 
> to cattle. Meanwhile, elk are free to go wherever they want, and they 
> are transmitting brucellosis to cattle in places where bison are not 
> allowed. Adding insult to injury, cattle originally brought 
> brucellosis to America from Europe and transmitted it to wildlife.
>
> Imagine if a human had never transmitted COVID to another human. How 
> long do you think a shelter-in-place order would last?
>
> The real reason bison cannot roam freely is because the livestock 
> industry does not want to lose enormous federal subsidies from the 
> federal government. It costs approximately $1.35 to graze a cow/calf 
> pair for one month on public land. If you take that same cow/calf pair 
> and put them on private land next to the public land, it will cost 
> between $20-$30/month. Of course the rugged individualist cowboys 
> don't want to sound like they are taking government handouts; thus 
> Brucellosis.
>
> The state of Montana and federal government’s refusal to allow bison 
> to roam means that Native American Tribes seeking to exercise their 
> treaty rights are forced to line up on the boundary of Yellowstone and 
> blast bison as soon at they leave the Park. The National Park Service 
> has said there are too many hunters concentrated in too small an area. 
> Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks has said the fear of death is real.
>
> The dangerous bison hunt raises environmental justice issues. Whites 
> killed bison to put Indigenous peoples on reservations. Now the state 
> of Montana and federal government are requiring Indigenous to engage 
> in an unfair and unethical hunt that puts their own lives at risk.
>
> *Does anyone think this would be a good time for Governor Bullock to 
> acknowledge historic injustices and issue an order that allows 
> Yellowstone bison to roam freely?*
>
>
>
>
>
> John Meyer
> Executive Director & General Counsel
> Cottonwood Environmental Law Center
> P.O. Box 412 Bozeman, MT 59771
> John at Cottonwoodlaw.org <mailto:John at Cottonwoodlaw.org>
> (406) 546-0149
>
> The information contained herein is privileged and confidential. If 
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> inform the sender of the error.
>
> Lawsuits get things done. Click here 
> <http://www.cottonwoodlaw.org/#donate> to support our legal work.
>
>
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-- 
Jeff Juel
Montana Policy Director
Friends of the Clearwater
509-688-5956
jeff at friendsoftheclearwater.org
www.friendsoftheclearwater.org

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