Comment from Mabry, Kate
Kate MabrySupportIndividual
Summary: Kate Mabry, a former federal park ranger, argues that the Yellowstone wild bison should be designated as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. She cites habitat destruction, government mismanagement, and hunting as primary threats to the species' survival and urges immediate protective action.
<br/><br/>Subject: Bison Public Comments FWS-R6-ES-2022-0028-0001<br/><br/>As a former federal park ranger, the Yellowstone wild bison issue is of huge interest to me personally. I support and recommend that the Yellowstone wild bison be designated ENDANGERED under the Endangered Species Act for the following reasons: <br/>• Government slaughter has decimated the genetically distinct Central herd and the number of bison in the subpopulation remains dangerously low.<br/>• Human land use has destroyed more than 85% of Yellowstone bison’s range and habitat while the government prohibits and excludes the migratory species from millions of acres of National public trust lands in the bioregion.<br/>• Human developments have destroyed all 14 long distance migration corridors for Yellowstone bison to escape catastrophic events, and an inhospitable environment created by the government.<br/>• Livestock control and veterinary management threaten Yellowstone bison’s wild genome – forged by their ancestors over thousands of years in a wild environment.<br/>• Yellowstone bison are being slaughtered by hunters when they go outside the park boundary. <br/>. Yellowstone bison are being captured, transported, confined for a period of time to test for disease, then given to Native Americans whom turn around and slaughter them under the auspices of their religious/spiritual beliefs. This is not sustainable nor is it protecting our bison. <br/>. The Bison National Wildlife Refuge was given to Native Americans by our United States Congress recently to manage our bison for perpetuity (This land had been previously purchased legally by the federal government, i.e., taxpayers). Prior to establishment of this refuge, bison were captured and sent to slaughter. It remains to be seen if the bison will be slaughtered under the auspices of religious/spiritual beliefs or protected under the new management of the Native Americans. <br/> Our wild bison were extirpated in the Eastern United States in the 19th century and we know their tragic history in the Western United States and the rest of that story but thanks to the great conservationist Theodore Roosevelt and his efforts along with others in preventing the bison’s near extinction in the early 20th century. <br/>We are now at a crossroads in this 21st century. Let’s not repeat the mistakes of the last two centuries that witnessed the decimation of too many species that now only reside in museum collections. ACT NOW and protect an American icon, our Yellowstone wild bison, by designating them ENDANGERED under the Endangered Species Act before it is too late. <br/>Thank you for your consideration. Do the right thing! <br/><br/>Respectfully,<br/>Kate Mabry