Group wants details on federal bison test lab near Gardiner

By KAYLEY MENDENHALL, Chronicle Staff Writer

Bison and Yellowstone National Park always seem to spark controversy.

This time, the controversy centers around a federal "bison birth control" program that environmental groups feel has been kept hidden from the public.

The National Wildlife Federation announced this week it has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to release information about the bison research site near Gardiner, which the group claims the agency planned for three years.

The research facility is operated by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said Steve Torbit, director of NWF's Rocky Mountain Resource Center in Boulder, Colo.

He said APHIS has leased private land outside of Corwin Springs for three years and began testing contraceptive vaccines on bison from South Dakota three months ago.

"We are not trying to raise a red flag and accuse APHIS of doing anything specific. The point is we don't know," Torbit said. "And I think the public needs to know. There is so much controversy over buffalo in Yellowstone."

Jack Rhyan of APHIS' veterinary services division in Colorado declined to comment on the project Wednesday. But APHIS officials told the Associated Press it has leased the land and the project has not been kept secret.

Yellowstone park officials said they have known about the project, but have some concerns and could use more information.

"We found out about it secondhand about a year and a half ago," said Wayne Brewster, deputy director of the park's resource division. "They had had it leased for quite a bit longer than that.

"We would have appreciated being informed earlier on," he said. "But it's sort of their business, I guess."

Park officials are particularly concerned about the apparent lack of an APHIS plan in case bison escape from the facility. Brewster does not want bison from South Dakota, which could potentially have impure genetic backgrounds, to mix with Yellowstone bison.

"I don't even know if they have an escapement plan," Brewster said. "If they get mixed in with native bison ... it would be hard to get them out again and we don't want that to happen."

NWF has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with APHIS, as well as with the National Park Service, Torbit said.

Brewster said the park plans to respond to the request.

APHIS has 20 days to respond to the NWF request, said Michael Saul, NWF's attorney.

Torbit said he believes APHIS should have conducted some sort of environmental analysis and given the public a chance to comment on the plan.

"We'll see what we get in 20 days, hopefully it will be fully disclosing," he said. "If we can get this information we will release it to the public, which APHIS should have done from the beginning."

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