Yellowstone: Test Bison Brucellosis Free Going to Turner Ranch

http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article.html?action=getArticle&id=8906

WP Approves Relocation Of 88 Bison From Quarantine Program
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Wild Things

The director of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks signed a record of decision Monday that allows the agency to relocate 88 disease-free bison from a quarantine facility near Corwin Springs to the Green Ranch, operated by Turner Enterprises west of Bozeman.

The bison are part of a five-year old study directed by FWP and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service at a 400-acre bison quarantine facility north of Yellowstone National Park.

In the first phase of the study, which aimed at determining the feasibility of establishing disease-free bison as a bison management tool as first described in the 10-year old Interagency Bison Management Plan, bison calves from Yellowstone National Park were captured in 2005 and 2006. About 50 of the quarantined bison that tested brucellosis free were eventually bred.

While the presence of brucellosis in the Yellowstone bison herd has been a source of concern for decades, bison at the facility have been repeatedly tested over the course of their quarantine and continue to show no exposure to brucellosis.

In this phase of the study, officials requested proposals from an agency or organization capable of caring for the quarantined bison and their calves for an additional five years.

Turner Enterprise’s Green Ranch proposal describes 12,000 acres of suitable habitat, excellent handling facilities, years of experience with bison, and secure living space for the animals. The ranch also will participate in continued disease testing and monitoring conducted by state and federal officials.

FWP officials stressed that they see the Green Ranch proposal as the best solution for completing the quarantine feasibility study and for providing the time needed to evaluate the potential for the disease-free animals to contribute to bison conservation.

"The Green Ranch emerged as the best option we have for these bison right now," said Ken McDonald, FWP’s Wildlife Bureau chief in Helena. "It gives us time to evaluate the social and biological factors that will come into play as we begin to plan for the future of bison management in Montana."

Several months ago, an agreement to relocate the quarantined bison to the Northern Arapaho Tribe’s Wind River Reservation in central Wyoming fell through when the tribe’s general counsel voted not to accept the bison.

All quarantined bison delivered to the Green Ranch, and 25 percent of their offspring, will be returned to FWP at the conclusion of the agreement, which will last up to five years. The Green Ranch will retain 75 percent of the quarantined bison’s offspring to offset management costs. The ranch also assumes some risk associated with the relocation. For example, if the state finds a permanent home for these bison before the five year period is up, the ranch would receive no more progeny from those bison to offset management costs.....

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