05/15/08

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) _ An effort to force hundreds of bison back
into Yellowstone National Park, from land around the park's western
edge, has prompted intense opposition from half a dozen
environmental groups.

State and federal officials on Wednesday began hazing 370 bison
grazing on and around Horse Butte, an isolated peninsula on Hebgen
Lake. The hazing is part of an Interagency Bison Management plan,
adopted in 2000, designed to protect cattle from the potential
spread of the bacterial disease brucellosis.

Six environmental groups sent a joint letter to Gov. Brian
Schweitzer on Wednesday, demanding the hazing cease immediately.
They said the plan should be amended to allow the animals to range
on lands outside the park that are not used for cattle grazing.
___

Information from: Bozeman Daily Chronicle,
http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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