Comment from Riddle, Dagmar
Dagmar RiddleSupportIndividual
Summary: The commenter urges the swift listing of Yellowstone National Park bison as endangered under the ESA to protect them from hunting and to ensure their survival. They argue that the current population management is unsustainable and that bison need access to historical ranges to maintain genetic diversity and health.
T I necessary and urgent t list the Yellowstone National Park bison on the ESA LIST as Endangered. Their low numbers, loss of genetic diversity, Montana's campaign to kill them and not allow them to occupy their historical range in the whole state, are valid issues to require their listing. Also the horrific "hunts" when the bison step outside cause much trauma, suffering and death to mostly pregnant femals and their previous years calves the park, wiping out whole families and their genetics and knowledge f survival are not only inhumane, but are also causing a public health issue for eople living and visiting the atras in and around Gardiner and West Yellowstone. The disease carrying bacteria in the gut piles, the sounds and smells of constant gunfire and death are a threat to human mental and physical health. It also affects domestic and wildlife in those areas. The bison crossing the borders of the park into Montana public land are adapted to human presence, so they have no fear of the hunters waiting to slaughter them...over 1100 mostly pregnant bison. There should be no hunting in these areas, and allow the bison to return to historic ndigenous range habitat to find food and to survive the incredibally harsh winters in the park. The unsustainable numbers of 3000 bison in the park, that the M DOL and the IBMP have come up with is neither scientific or making for a sustainable population and lacks genetic diversity and viability. YNP has reported to the public that the park can easily hold up to 10,00 to 11,000 bison, but it is necessary to allow the bison to move to thier habitats to find food for survival to their unborn and previous years young, as well as for themselves. The winter die off in the park of bison is never addressed or counted in the numbers of bison lost. <br/>I ask that the listing of these bison to the ESA List be swift, as business are still being killed as they step out I the park's borders. Native treaty rights must be addressed that theAtive community must wait to hnt them until the bison poulation numbers are large enough for limited hunts to b carried out. More public land needs to be available to wild and free bison to allow the occution of their historic range, and any suplus park bison be tansferred to those public lands. We need to save those two distinct YNP bison herds.... The northern range geards, and the central range herds. Urgent listing is needed!