Bison Face Hunting at Wyoming Refuge
The Bison hunt is about to gear up at the National Elk Refuge in Wyoming. It is an odd arrangement. But the interesting aspect of this article is not that the hunt is on, it’s Barry Reiswig’s, former refuge manager for Fish and Wildlife Service, opinion of the place :
Reiswig, who retired from the Fish and Wildlife Service in June, said he never liked the feeding program but was forced to accept it as a political reality.
“For us to march in and say, ‘We’re going to phase out this feeding program,’ that was not an option,” Reiswig said. “Realistically, in a Western state, given this administration, that’s just not the way this game is played.”
In this game Vice Presidents blow off their friends’ faces while shooting at birds released from cages, affluent folk fly all the way to Wyoming to shoot docile buffalo, and shooting fish in a barrel is considered fair substitute for fair chase.
September 27th, 2007 at 11:51 am
Let the natural predators in the area “phase them out”, wolves would love to meet this over abundance of bison and they damn well deserve it and then some. I recommend tag and release a few or more or straight intro them all together. Populations of wolves is what used to keep the herd numbers in check but now they are practically gone. Ranchers and livestockers are complaining that they are hurting their livestock yet they settled right in thier living room????? It is thier responsibility to deal with it if not get the hell out! These animals not less than 15 years ago were at the brink of extinction in the lower 48. They used to roam even the eastern seaboard. Over populations of bison is due to lack of predators.
December 5th, 2007 at 7:58 am
Tell me, Mr. Turner….Where you live? How long have you lived in Wyoming? How many times have you had a wolf or two or three follow you and/or your family on horseback? How many times have you had a wolf/wolves come into your campsite with your children playing there? Do you even feed your family all year with elk meat? Tell me, Mr. Turner….
February 24th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
I only wish I could see real wolves in the wild. You don’t know how lucky you are, Carol. How sad.
What do you want? Do you want the government at taxpayer expense to “sanitize” the area you work and play of any wildlife you deem “dangerous?” Would that make you happy?
If you choose to LIVE AND PLAY in open spaces where wildlife lives, then why do you act so surprised when you see — oh my God — a real wolf!
Silly lady! Go live in the city if you’re afraid of wolves!
Your chances of getting harmed BY ANY WILD ANIMAL is tiny compared to you or your family getting seriously injured or even killed by a DOMESTIC DOG.
March 9th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
Interesting. Thank you.