Comment from Segal, Ellen

See attached file(s)<br/><br/>As an American I am very concerned for our plains Bison and their dwindling herd numbers and diminished range. I am writing to strongly advocate for listing the plains Bison as an endangered species under the federal Endangered Species Act ASAP.<br/><br/>Human land use has destroyed more than 85% of Yellowstone&#39;s Bison range &amp; habitat &amp; the Montana state governor forbids this indigenous migratory species from grazing on millions of acres of public lands owned by us, the American people, and on trust lands and the Governor even demanded a stay of the American Prairie Bison grazing decision which would have allowed Bison to increase their genetic diversity &amp; expand onto original prairie which is part of their ancestral land base. The Montana politicians even forbid Bison from grazing on Bison-friendly private lands. Currently Bison occupy less than 1% of their original lands and almost all of their ancient corridors have disappeared because of agriculture/roads/building/fencing and excessive hunting in the northern and western boundaries of YNP which blocks migration to available habitat &amp; prevents restoration of the landscape which is vital for native plants and soil integrity. Global warming is a reality, as a result grazing is and will continue to be more challenging and less nutrient dense, so, expanding migratory pathways is more crucial than ever to meet the nutritional needs of this ancient species in spring/summer to prepare for what is becoming more extreme snow fall and more difficult access to winter forage under several feet of packed snow. Who knows, if we continue to have winters like 2022 the herds may naturally thin out to an alarmingly low population and couple that with extreme hunting and it could destroy what remains of the herds.,<br/><br/>The winter hunt this last season was a terrifying firing-line style &#39;hunt&#39; where more than 25% of the total population were slaughtered including more than 329 adult female Bison who were gunned down while being pregnant with the next generation, and this does not include the winter killed Bison or those who died due to vehicle accidents &amp; now there are less than 5,000 Bison. The greater impact on the herds has yet to be quantified, and the trickle effect to Grizzlies, Wolves &amp; all the other mammals who depend upon Bison as part of their nutrition also hangs in the balance. Not to mention the impact this has on the local communities who witness the aftermath of the slaughter and streams of blood.<br/><br/>Montana FWP is no longer using science &amp; long term studies to determine decisions relating to wildlife, they are no longer the gold standard in wildlife stewardship instead they have gone in-house while the state is protecting the cattle industry &amp; both entities display an extreme &amp; unscientific intolerance for native Bison. While the IBMP has been no better with their plan of capture/haze/quarantine/excessive hunting/ &amp; veterinary experiments and that plan expired in 2015 but is still enforced. Even the Park has stated repeatedly that there has been zero brucellosis transmission from Bison to livestock. The cattle are invasive, are a health threat to our Bison, &amp; add to that the &quot;intolerance zones&#39; which prevent Bison from accessing public &amp; private lands &amp; it leaves Bison in a dead-end zone so long as the state &quot;manages&quot; the Yellowstone Bison herds.<br/><br/>Last December at the Interagency Management Plan Meeting the Governor/Montana Dept. of Livestock were not capable of a round table discussion. Their mindset is unscientific, lacking any empathy for the Bison, and is contra to the Park, independent biologists, &amp; the American people who want Buffalo to roam free on ancestral lands, to be protected and for the integrity of the gene pool to be preserved. The state and FWP are not capable, they intend to further significantly diminish the herds and are a threat and present danger to the Yellowstone Bison.<br/><br/>Please protect our American Buffalo with federal protection, please stop the slaughter before another hunt season begins.<br/><br/>Here is a quote from Todd Wilkinson from &quot;Let&#39;s Not Squander The Miracle of Yellowstone&quot; The Mountain Journal:<br/><br/>&quot;One of the questions we must ask is: are we really paying attention to what matters or distracted by other stuff? The second is: if we are paying attention, what is our focus; what else are we missing with things happening imperceptably right before our eyes? The third and most vital is: once our awareness level is heightened, do we possess the will to change the way we think? Are we able to discern when wildness starts to fade or vanish, when certain species start to dwindle or go away, when landscapes reach tipping points whereby the nature of a place irreversibly becomes dominated by human impacts?&quot; <br/><br/>Thank you for opening up this comment period for the American people and advocates for American Bison.