AZ Bison Herd Reduction EA open for comment

https://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=49574

"According to a NPS news release, the NPS would work together with cooperating agencies and partners through the preferred alternative to reduce the bison herd to fewer than 200 animals using lethal culling with skilled volunteers and non-lethal capture and removal.

A management action that is not included in the Park Service’s preferred alternative is reducing the bison herd through public hunting. The Arizona Game and Fish Commission and Department have consistently advocated for a model that uses properly licensed hunters as a management tool and allows the hunter to keep the animal.

“Several of the proposed actions in the Park Service EA will cost taxpayers far more than lethal removal by citizen hunters who would pay for the opportunity to assist the NPS,” said Arizona Game and Fish Commissioner Kurt Davis. “This will provide additional hunting opportunities consistent with the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and help to properly manage the bison population. This approach just makes sense and supports efforts to alleviate park damage caused by bison, saves tax dollars, funds wildlife conservation and helps protect habitat for other wildlife.”

The NPS will host three in-person open house meetings and one web-based meeting during the comment period. All times are Arizona time (Mountain Standard Time - MST) unless otherwise indicated:
6 p.m. – 8 pm. Tuesday, May 16 at the DoubleTree by Hilton, 1175 W. Route 66 in Flagstaff.
5 p.m. – 7 p.m. Thursday, May 18 at the Ben Avery Activity Center, 4044 W. Black Canyon Blvd in Phoenix.
6 p.m. – 8 p.m. (Mountain Time) (5 p.m. – 7 p.m. Arizona time) Tuesday, May 23 at the Holiday Inn Express and Hotel, 217 S. 100 East in Kanab, Utah.
5 p.m. – 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 30 online. Registration for the web-based meeting and more information about the open houses can be found here.
Comments can be submitted either electronically or via U.S. Postal Service at Grand Canyon National Park, P.O. Box 129, Attn: Bison Management Plan EA, Grand Canyon, AZ 86023 or at one of the in-person public meetings listed above.

Comments must be received by June 7."

Done earlier today. NPS can turn an expense, hired shooters to cull the herd, into a revenue source through issuing harvest tags where hunters keep the bison meat, hide and horns. Can piggyback on the existing AZ big game draw system. Lets wildlife biologists have a less expensive option for when bison are over objective for the delicate eco-system.

I read where it stated that hunters that draw will pay a tag fee but can only keep some of the meat, and no hide, horns, or skull. Sign me up !.......yeah, right.

I've turkey and deer hunted the North Kaibab area for 40 years. The NPS has never tried to maintain its fences or boundaries at the north rim. I have confronted several of their rangers/shills for eliminating the buffalo over the years and when the lack of any fencing of the park comes up they turn tail and hide. There is not the level of damage to the environment that the NPS contends. Hunting is the best answer to control populations. Rocky Mtn. Nat. Park has had hunters that are called hunters instead of "trained sharp shooters"control excess elk for several years with good success. The NPS at GC probably never heard of it. GJ

I commented saying that it makes the most sense to just let AZ game and fish issue hunting licenses.

This is my first post on this forum, I usually just lurk and learn, great forum!

That said, hunting is not an option guys, hunting in national parks is not allowed unless Congress authorized it in the parks foundation document. Specific legislation from congress would have to authorize hunting in GCNP because hunting was not authorized in the GCNP founding document. The skilled volunteer program is as close to hunting as you can get without actual hunting(legally speaking). If you want to see hunting in National Parks, you are not going to get anywhere by commenting on EAs, citizens would have to convince congress to act and roll back laws that have been in place since TR was in office for the NPS to allow hunting in parks unless hunting was specifically authorized in the parks founding documents(as is the case in Grand Teton and a few other Parks).
P.S
The action taken at RMNP was done under the skilled volunteer program.

Just to clarify my last post, hunting is not an alternative in the EA because there is no legal mechanism to allow hunting. Call your Congressman if you want to see this change.

Babybull- Great info! Thank you for sharing that.

I would love to see them change the rules to allow hunting in NP. The Olympic NP is overran with non-native MT goats

neffa3 said:

I would love to see them change the rules to allow hunting in NP. The Olympic NP is overran with non-native MT goats

Click to expand...

Montana goats?

My guess would be intra-state transfer from either Mt Baker or the Goat Rocks.

One of the better explanations I have heard on this situation was on the Jay Scott podcast explaining the whole situation. In this Podcast he explains what would actually happen if they were to use lethal measures to eradicate the buffalo. Growing up in Arizona and spending multiple seasons up in the Kaibab the buffalo are smart they know where the park boundary is and know where they are safe. There are other ways that would benefit Arizona hunters that are explained in the podcast, that would solve the parks issue and help hunters as well. This is worth a listen. https://jayscottoutdoors.podbean.co...ons-trailcams-moth-epidemic-with-russ-jacoby/

Legislation amending the GCNP authorization/designation is the only way to allow public hunting approaches. Park services Hands are tied and can't even consider options outside the current Law. Getting a congressman or senator to sponsor a bill and then Swaying enough votes at a national level is the way to go. Slipping it into a can't vote down bill is the way it seems to happen. Stand alone bill like this draw too much political fire so slipping under the radar seems to be the way politicians work anymore.