By Staci-lee Sherwood
Shortly after posting my article about the decision to allow outside hunters into the Grand Canyon National Park their officials sent me a private message. Not wanting to engage the public they were more upset that their propaganda spin wasn’t being bought by the public than having a first time hunt inside park boundaries. Corrupt government never likes to be called out. Of course this was during the time when Facebook was down and no doubt the real reason I was contacted. Below is the usual dribble you get from government that says nothing. They use the usual buzz words ‘science based’ and ‘stakeholders’ to sound intelligent and balance but it's word play. I responded with facts and Jo could not bring herself to answer back. By then of course Facebook was back up and running. Not one person I know heard anything about killing bison or mountain goats on park soil. You would think this would make national news but it did not for a reason.
Grand Canyon Park official messaged me while Facebook was down
"Thank you for your concerns about the bison management operations currently underway at Grand Canyon National Park. Grand Canyon National Park was established as a park in 1919 and was the 13th established National Park in the system.
In 2014, the National Park Service initiated a science-based planning process to manage bison overpopulation at Grand Canyon National Park following concerns from our subject-matter experts that the abundance and density the herd was negatively impacting fundamental park resources including the park’s limited water supply, native vegetation, and archaeological sites important to tribes whose ancestral homelands the park encompasses today.
During our planning process, the National Park Service distributed the Initial Bison Herd Reduction Environmental Assessment to stakeholders and the public for feedback and comment, as well as carefully reviewed its contents by an interdisciplinary team of experts using the best science available. In 2017, the park finalized the Initial Bison Herd Reduction Plan that protects the park and long-term health and longevity of the Kaibab Plateau herd by reducing the herd’s size from 600 to fewer than 200 through live capture and transfer, as well as limited lethal removal.
Since the park began transferring bison to tribal partners in 2019, 124 bison have been relocated to six tribes in four states through the InterTribal Buffalo Council. Even with the success of live capture and transfer, lethal removal remains a necessary tool to disperse and move the herd. Park experts have found that neither capture and transfer nor hazing replicate this needed movement and dispersal behavior. This year the park plans to lethally remove 12 bison—the fewest number our wildlife biologists believe necessary to achieve this needed effect. Lethal removal is in no way a trophy hunt and is conducted under controlled circumstances directed and supervised by our park managers. Additionally, during the first operational period, culturally significant parts were donated to Grand Canyon’s Traditionally Associated Tribes. The park expects to donate even more throughout the duration of the program.
Multiple agencies are involved with bison management on the Kaibab Plateau. The National Park Service continues to collaborate closely with our partners at the InterTribal Buffalo Council, Arizona Game and Fish Department, U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management to implement the 2017 Initial Bison Herd Reduction Plan.
If you would like to discuss some additional inaccuracies with your article, feel free to reach out to us. Thanks,"
Jo
GRCA Public Affairs, NPS
My response
Jo,
I've written plenty of press releases and pr statements with lots of words that don't say anything too. Go on any hunting site and you see they all talk about bagging a mountain goat and the thrill of hunting in a national park, Grand Tetons. You expect us to think this is any different please we have seen haaland in action she's a menace as are culver and not doubt manning will be. I've been to 1/3 of national parks including the Grand Canyon north rim and the Tetons. There was a time when the staff at the parks had more integrity and weren't all from the same let's kill the wildlife to make room for cows mold.
First you fail to address the fact that your claim about lethal removal is false narrative. Unless this animal is immobilized and a licensed vet uses a drug to euthanize the animal it's a hunt. If the bison are free roaming with hunters, sorry 'qualified volunteers' who brag on hunting sites, shooting them for several days that's a hunt. Unless you have video proof otherwise it's a hunt.
Second the number of bison killed, sorry lethally removed, is not the point. Doesn't matter if it's 1 or 1,000,000 if a hunter kills on park soil it's a hunt. What a precedent you're setting. I guess the part about giving the meat to the tribes is a way to soften the blow deflect away from those who might challenge this arrangement .
If only you government employees actually understood what a genuine conservationist is not some moron shooting animals. The entire dept of interior is infested with ranchers hunters and polluters with the same small minded corrupted tunnel vision handed to them by the ranching and oil & gas industry. No one believes anything you people say you lost that credibility years ago now everything is tainted.
If there is anyone in govt with an ounce of concern for public lands they will have to admit that it's the cows the millions of cows that destroy the land not native wildlife. If you insist on clinging to your own pr statements written to assuage the unknowing public you got the right job. I'm sure you tell yourself this is all 'science' based with many stakeholders, I already know where your science comes from and who the stakeholders are. No one believes this ends with the bison. You all have demonstrated how willing you are to bend over for the worst of the human race the hunter.
If only this country were half as great as people think it is. If only those paid by taxpayers to protect our public lands and wildlife actually did that job gee we would have a much better country. Of course we all know which side of the arrow everyone working for the parks and all the agencies and departments come down on and it's never genuine conservation is it. Please share this will all your park colleagues
Rescind all the grazing permits
Stop the brutal unnecessary wild horse & burro roundups and slaughter
Stop the wolf hunts
Stop the mountain goat hunts and move them to alaska and washington state
Stop the hunt of the reyes park elk which is being done to make room for the cows ah the cows again
You do this then we can have a serious talk about conservation. Land and wildlife survived millions of years without humans imagine that no one there to get paid to manage them. They thrived until some bureaucrats stuck there butt where it doesn't belong and screwed everything up. Deep down you know I'm right Jo.
Staci-lee
If you would like to read the article about the Bison hunt click here