An Idea That is Not Well Thought Out.

<a href="http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/04/14/news/wyoming/25-bison.txt">Schweitzer explains bison ideas to ranchers</a><br />n<br />n<blockquote><a href="http://governor.mt.gov/governor/govbio.asp">Gov. Brian Schweitzer</a> is proposing an expanded bison hunt and payments to ranchers who remove their cattle from the Yellowstone National Park area, saying he won't "roll over for the federal government" and let Montana be put at risk of losing its prized brucellosis-free status.</blockquote><br />n<br />nI think letting Brucellosis infected bison wander around the state of Montana is a mistake. I'm in the minority here, I know, but the precedence involved by doing it could be bad. To protect the cattle industry the Governor wants to pay ranchers who run cattle near Yellowstone park to move their cattle. Where is the money for this to come from?<br />n<br />n<blockquote>Schweitzer made clear that he wasn't talking about Montana "reaching into our pockets" to pay. He suggested the federal government take the money it would be spending on hazing and slaughtering and use it on annual payments to ranchers.</blockquote><br />n<br />nSince when does Schweitzer speak for the Federal Government and set policy for them? We can't get the Feds to do anything about the brucellosis problem and he thinks they are going to pay ranchers to move their cattle? Fat chance of that happening. The Feds don't care about people, just whatever policy they feel like following whether it hurts people or not.<br />n<br />nOf course ask a rancher who is being asked to move his cattle and what response do you get?<br />n<br />n<blockquote>Mike Manship, owner of Red Creek Ranch on Hebgen Lake, said bison should be placed in their natural environment in Eastern Montana or at least moved to public land somewhere.</blockquote><br />n<br />nBasically, "not in my backyard, put them somewhere else, anywhere else, where they won't bother me." I can't say that I blame him. So what's our Gov going to do if a rancher doesn't want to move his cattle so his "plan"might work? Seize the cattle through eminent domain and make him move them or just let the bison roam free and possible infect the cattle and cause the whole cattle industry in the state to be quarantined by the Federal Government? If the producers in the area aren't willing to do this the whole "scheme" that Schweitzer has dreamed up fails. <br />n<br />nI will give the Governor that he is trying on this issue, this at least sounds a little better than his idea to kill all the bison in the park to eradicate the problem, but speaking for the ranchers in the area and the Federal Government when he has no authority to do so isn't real smart. By saying these things certain people will take them as gospel and think it's a done deal when it isn't. Oh well, that's our Gov for you, speak first and consider the consequences later.<br />n<br />n<b>Nothing dies harder than a bad idea. Julia Cameron</b>