TERRA News
Home on the range.
All told, 1600+ wild bison have been killed this winter in Yellowstone National Park. The ultimate question I have is: how long can we continue to allow economic arguments about threats to livestock / business to trump real ecological and habitat concerns? The lost bison are not simply collateral damage but the real pain will be felt further down the trophic cascade on the numerous animals (think wolves, grizzlies, coyotes) who have lost precious food resources and a key component of the ecological system as a whole. The effects of the Bison Interagency Managment Plan will continue to ripple throughout the Yellowstone food chain. The fact is that natural borders do not obey artificially constructed man-made lines. We must learn to manage our natural resouces with flexibility, as nature does, not rigid control, otherwise we risk losing them for future generations.
-- - ELB