Bison are not endangered

by John Malmberg

We are not at all surprised the U.S. Fish and Wildlife is conducting a status review on the Yellowstone bison to determine if they should be given Endangered Species Act status after the USFW received pressure from environmental groups.

The Yellowstone bison population with 6,000 head is now larger than at any point since the park’s founding.

So apparently to the those environmental groups’ way of reasoning, since the bison population is greater than ever and increasing despite depredation by wolves, grizzly bears, brucellosis, transferring bison to native tribes and more, the bison must be endangered and in need of protection.

That certainly doesn’t make sense to a reasoning person, but the USFW has paid heed to environmental groups before.

We have seen this scenario play out in the past several years with the Yellowstone wolves and grizzly bears, but in those two cases those species actually needed ESA protection for a time to recover.

The bison do not need protection.

Unfortunately after both the wolf and the grizzly bear had fully recovered, the ESA protection continues.

For the benefit of the bison and the entire Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the USFW needs to rely on scientific facts and logical analysis rather than politics and the groups that are the loudest.

We sincerely hope the USFW is smart enough and courageous enough to just say “no” to this silliness and the environmental groups don’t find a friendly judge to rule in their favor.

We’ve seen this before and we aren’t holding our breath the right decision will be made.

But as a frustrated mother would say to her continuously misbehaving child, “Enough already.”

-Cody Enterprise