I just got back from a meeting the Fish and Game put on to promote Buffalo hunting in Mt. It was very informative and a lot was said.
They are basically going to run off of 1 of 4 plans. You can go to Mt fish and game to look up more. It is a little under a half inch thick and not near the dry reading that the wolf studies that were sent to me were.
The first plan will leave every thing as is, second and third plan are pretty much identical with a few little changes between them. These will limit the number of animals the first year to 25 for the season, and the fourth plan calls for and increment lasting 10 day's and 25 tags per increment. Until 225 tags have been used. The seasons would be from November until February.
There are plans in the making right now that would start to implement spreading wild heards thruoght Mt the same as they did the Elk. They are not looking at any other animals that don't belong to the Yellowstone heard. This is one of the only groups that are proven not to have cattle genes mixed in, so the Biologist kept saying.
I would strongly advise all those out there that are actively against leases for cattle on hallowed ground to jump on this and help.
Right now, the DOL (Department of Livestock) have the power over the Buffalo and apperently they are working to keep it.
We pay about two million a year to keep the buffalo in side or killed at the boarder of Yellowstone, to protect about 400 cattle.
I figure that the revenue produced by hunters hunting Buffalo would far out distance what ever the lease payments are.
They really pushed at the meeting that this is the last large native land animal that could fairly easily be put back into the landscape and used as a natural resource.
There are safe guards implemented that take an animal four years of basic quarentine to be deemed fit to be put back into the wild in a new environment.
They also stated over and over, it was the local sportsmen from Butte and Anaconda that were very instrumental in bringing back the Rocky Mountain Elk back so that they could be hunted to the extent they are today.
If any one wants a Bison Draft, I collected an extra five and will send them out to you guy's if your interested.
Ithica did this for me even when we were going at eachother. I will do this for any one that wants one with no prejidice.
Send me your address on my e-mail if your interested and I will send it out..
There was a ton of other info that was given, I can answer what I can if there are any questions...
