[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 43 (Monday, April 14, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3110-S3111]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       BISON IN YELLOWSTONE PARK

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I rise to talk about a difficulty that we 
have had this winter in Wyoming and Montana in the Yellowstone Park 
area with respect to buffalo. Many of you, of course, have read about 
the problem as a result of an extremely difficult winter, freezing rain 
and snow, lack of feed, and I think also an excessive number of 
buffalo. As chairman of the Senate Energy Committee Subcommittee on 
National Parks, I come to the floor today to announce that we plan to 
hold hearings on the prospective plan for bison in Yellowstone Park 
next year. It is not our purpose to particularly pick apart what 
happened last year, but what we want to do is avoid the same thing 
happening in the year that is to come.
  Many of you have probably read in this weekend's New York Times some 
details about the conflicting and contentious perspectives regarding 
bison and the issue of brucellosis. The hearing I plan to have will be 
to spur the Interior Department to set a plan for the upcoming year. If 
we do not, then we might very well end up with another year of the same 
kinds of difficulties.
  Many buffalo in Yellowstone Park are afflicted with brucellosis, 
which is a major threat to the surrounding livestock States that border 
on Yellowstone Park, particularly, in this case, Montana. 
Unfortunately, the only solution that has been developed so far for the 
Park Service in the State of Montana is to shoot the buffalo as they 
come out of Yellowstone. Clearly, that solution is not acceptable. We 
have to find one that is a long-term solution to the problem.
  Management of the bison herd in Yellowstone is not a brand new idea. 
Clearly, there has to be some kind of management to a herd of this 
kind. There has been a great deal of interest in having a natural, 
free-roaming herd, which would be a nice thing. Up until about 1967, 
however, it was managed very closely. Then the decision was made to let 
the herd simply act as it would in a natural situation and be 
controlled by the lack of feed and predators and all those kinds of 
things. Unfortunately, that is not very workable in a park that is 
visited by 3 million people a year, in a park where other kinds of 
controls are not in place. So the result is the herd had grown from 
somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,500 bison to nearly 4,000. There are 
over 3,500. As long as the weather circumstances and the grazing 
circumstances were excellent, they were able to get by, even though 
most observers did note that the grazing there was damaged considerably 
by that number of bison.

[[Page S3111]]

  So the Park Service has made some efforts to address the matter. But 
the fact is that there has not been any real leadership for doing 
something over a period of time. Instead of facing the problem, the 
Park Service focused on the theory of natural regulation. As you can 
see by the events of last year, that natural regulation did not resolve 
the matter. Natural regulation does not work well when one Federal 
agency holds the threat over ranchers in the State that they will be 
stripped of their brucellosis-free status if bison cross into their 
State. At the same time, another Federal agency encourages wildlife to 
migrate from the park by not developing a proper management plan. This 
is precisely, of course, what happened.
  It is more a problem in Montana than it is in Wyoming. You at least 
have a buffer in Wyoming, on both the south and east sides of the park, 
of a forest wilderness area; whereas, in fact, private property grazing 
takes place immediately outside of the park on the Montana side.

  So, in order to avoid repeating that unfortunate situation, where a 
good number of bison starved to death in the park and another number 
was shot as they went out of the park to avoid the problem of 
brucellosis, we think we need to find a more innovative solution. The 
time for finger pointing is over. It has been sort of a tough deal out 
there, with everybody being involved.
  What we need is some strong leadership to face the issue. 
Unfortunately, the President has still not appointed a new Director of 
the Park Service. It is a little difficult to deal with the Park 
Service and Interior Department in terms of policy, in terms of the 
future, when there really is not a permanent Director there. So we 
clearly need, and it is very vital that we have, focused and solid 
leadership in the National Park Service. In fact, I have sent a letter 
today to the President urging he do that.
  Along with Chairman Murkowski, I and others on the Senate Energy 
Committee are willing to work with the administration to develop 
positive and constructive solutions. As a matter of fact, we have held 
a couple of general hearings on the park. Our purpose in the next 
several months will be to take a look at the park to find a way, a very 
positive way, to strengthen the National Park System. We have about 375 
parks. I think they are among the most important elements of our 
culture and our history, and our effort ought to be increased to 
maintain those natural resources as well as providing an opportunity 
for visitors to enjoy them.
  So, we are ready to address the tough issues and launch a proparks 
agenda for this next year to try to make some moves to ensure that this 
buffalo incident does not occur next year and that we find a solution 
that protects not only the buffalo, protects not only the resource, but 
also protects the surrounding States and their very important livestock 
industries and allows them to remain in a brucellosis-free 
certification area. So we will be moving forward on that, Mr. 
President. I appreciate the opportunity, and I yield the floor.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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