The Park Service acknowledged its plan focuses only on initial herd reduction and committed to working on the long-term management of the bison, though it did not promise a specific set of actions or planning efforts.

In response to the Park Service’s plan, the Sierra Club’s Sandy Bahr said the environmental organization supports the aggressive removal of bison from the national park, but continues to advocate only the use of nonlethal means.

The reintroduction of wolves would be a more natural way to control herd numbers, Bahr said, but the Park Service ruled that out, saying it is not a predictable population reduction tool.

Bahr said the Park Service’s plan to cull the bison population needs to be coupled with a plan to keep the animals from coming back into the park. Without that, the agency will find itself having to keep taking the same actions over and over, she said.

Arizona Game and Fish Commissioner Kurt Davis weighed in on the plan as well, saying several of the Park Service’s proposals would cost taxpayers more than simply allowing regulated hunting in the area.

Davis said the Arizona Game and Fish Department has the expertise to reduce the bison population to sustainable levels through citizen hunters who would pay for the opportunity to hunt the animals and keep the carcasses.

Emery Cowan can be reached at (928) 556-2250 or ecowan@azdailysun.com

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