Brucellosis, Buffer Zones, Bio Bullets and More

Park County Hosts Roundtable on Schweitzer’s Brucellosis “Buffer Zone”

By David Nolt, 8-17-07

Responding to Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s plan to create a “brucellosis-free buffer zone” around Yellowstone National Park, the Park County Commissioners sponsored and hosted a public meeting in Livingston on Friday, August 17.

The meeting came as Montana faces the possibility of being downgraded to a “Brucellosis Class A State” if cattle in any herd in the state test positive for the disease. Brucellosis causes female ungulates to suddenly abort their fetuses and can be carried in most mammals and birds. Last month the U.S. Department of Agriculture discovered brucellosis in six cows on Joe and Sandy Morgan’s ranch near Bridger. The entire herd—569 head of cattle—were subsequently sent to slaughter.

Governor Brian Schweitzer’s buffer zone plan would require all cattle entering or leaving the as-of-yet determined zone around the park to be tested for brucellosis. Schweitzer and others’ fears stem from the possibility of wild Yellowstone National Park bison transmitting the disease to cattle, though no such transmission has ever been recorded.

Park County Commissioner Larry Lahren opened the discussion by saying the meeting was an attempt to “get the facts on the table, which will hopefully result in a resolution about the governor’s plan, which really isn’t a plan at all.”

The meeting largely centered around the topics of vaccinations and the all-out eradication of brucellosis with input from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and other state officials, including a representative from Gov. Schweitzer’s office, leading the way. Currently, APHIS is conducting a brucellosis quarantine feasibility study in several areas around Yellowstone National Park. Ryan Clarke, an APHIS brucellosis expert, said the study has three primary goals: “To see if we could take bison out of the park and produce a disease-free animal; 2) To preserve the bison genetics of Yellowstone National Park; 3) Theoretically, if we can produce a disease-free population, it will serve as sort of a pressure valve for bison in the park.”

Clarke said the study is going “very well,” but when asked by New West if he believed it was actually possible to completely eradicate brucellosis in wildlife (bison, elk, deer, coyotes, wolves, birds, etc.), he replied, “I think with more tools it is, but it’s going to be difficult.”

In 2000, five federal agencies—the Department of Livestock (DOL), Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP), APHIS, Yellowstone National Park (YNP) and the Gallatin National Forest (GNF) formed the Interagency Bison Management Plan.

This plan created three zones for bison management, with certain number of bison tolerated in each zone. If the number of bison in a particular zone exceeds the limit, the animals are either hazed back into the park or are shipped off to slaughter. Under Montana law, the Department of Livestock manages wild bison outside of Yellowstone National Park, not Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, which manages all other wildlife in the state.

The attempt to eradicate the disease in bison has led to the slaughter of over 3,000 animals that have strayed out of the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park, at great expense to taxpayers, and has so far been unsuccessful.

After Clarke spoke, Hal Harper from Gov. Schweitzer’s office spoke, commenting on the large amount of misinformation being circulated about Gov. Schweitzer’s buffer zone plan.

Harper spoke of a recently discovered option for Montana to keep its brucellosis-free status if the disease is discovered in another herd of domestic cattle. According to the USDA, establishing a “split-State” status is not easy and requires a state meeting 11 strict factors. A July 11 USDA letter to Gov. Schweitzer states, “Establishing two-area classification is a complex and detailed process, which will require tremendous State and federal effort to complete.”

Even if Montana achieved split-State status, several members of the audience pointed out many countries, like Canada, will not accept split-State certified beef, or will give significantly reduced prices for beef.

Harper also spoke of engaging Wyoming and Idaho in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) of permanently eradicating brucellosis in these states while managing it in the meantime.

“We need a better vaccine for this disease, because it is almost impossible to eradicate this disease without a better vaccination.”

Harper described Montana being downgraded to Brucellosis Class A status as necessary to “avoid as close to a catastrophe in this state as we could imagine.”

Currently, the Yellowstone National Park Service is studying “remote delivery vaccination” including “bio-bullet,” “fogging,” and “feed pellet” vaccinations. Ryan Clarke at APHIS said feed pellets are the most desirable method of vaccinations, but he said the technology is still likely years away from producing something like a vaccine pellet that will withstand ungulates’ four-stomach digestive systems.

Others, including Tim Stevens from the National Parks Conservation Association, cited alternative plans, including one in cooperation with the Western States Livestock Association. The plan encourages the development of effective vaccines along with “special and temporal” separations of cattle and bison to ensure Yellowstone bison can remain free roaming.

Glenn Hockett of the Gallatin Wildlife Association also presented an alternative plan, which would proactively engage ranchers surrounding the park to protect their cattle while also maintaining free roaming bison.

“If we’re going to embrace a truly wild bison herd, this is the place to do it,” Hockett said. “Private landowners can lead [the plan] and limit it. It will be more cost-effective, and it will respect more private property on both sides of the issue.”

Hockett also pressed the commissioners to find out where the infection of the Bridger herd came from. Dr. Knight from the USDA told New West it will likely remain unknown where it came from, though evidence points to wildlife. Infections of cattle herds in Wyoming and Idaho were determined to come from elk, though elk feedlots in Idaho greatly increase the chances of spreading this disease.

In all, about 100 people attended the all-afternoon event, and about 20 people went on the record voicing comments and asking questions to the commissioners and experts. Some questioned the high costs of vaginal-transmitters and 24-hour studies of bison near the Royal Teton ranch north of Gardiner. Others stressed the vital importance of wildlife like bison in bringing in tourist dollars, while one woman sternly warned the commissioners, “Do not tread on private property.”

Many audience members urged the commissioners not to turn a problem, which belongs to the Yellowstone National Park Service, into the public’s and other agencies’ problems. No invitations to the meeting were sent to the National Park Service, nor were any invitations sent to the National Forest Service, which oversees huge acreages around the park.

The commissioners from Park, Gallatin, Stillwater, Carbon, Madison and Sweetgrass Counties said they hoped to produce a resolution from the meeting soon.

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