Violating Yellowstone policy

This editorial is written by Jim Bailey, a board member of the Gallatin Wildlife Association and a retired biologist. We have printed this with his permission.

Violating Yellowstone Policy

With all the furor over slaughter of 1600 bison from Yellowstone National Park, we are overlooking a serious issue. The Interagency Bison Management Plan and Yellowstone Superintendent Lewis are violating mandates and policies of the National Park Service.

Congress mandates retaining Park resources “in their natural conditions” and leaving them “unimpaired for future generations.” Park Service policy is to “maintain processes of naturally evolving ecosystems” and to minimize “human interference with evolving genetic diversity.”

It is likely that genetic diversity of the Park’s bison was lost to slaughtering in 2008. Moreover, natural selection has largely been replaced by human intervention. Coevolution of the Park’s animals, plants and microorganisms has been sidetracked, along with bison adaptation to their physical environment.

Coevolution of bison and Brucella abortus has proceeded for about 100 years in Yellowstone. There is some evidence of resistance to brucellosis in bison already. With progress in genetic engineering, genes for resistance to brucellosis might one day be transferred to livestock; but only if we allow natural selection to proceed in the Park.

The Interagency Bison Management Plan is a dangerous precedent, subverting the purposes established for natural areas within National Parks. We are converting bison to livestock, and making the Park more like just another theme park.

Jim Bailey
Belgrade