"Mary Ann Franke's To Save the Wild Bison is the first book to examine the ecological and political aspects of the bison controversy and how it reflects changing attitudes toward wildlife. The debate has evoked strong emotions from all sides. Park officials and environmentalists want Yellowstone bison to remain free roaming, and most prefer that population size be controlled by food supply, predators, and hunting outside the park. Livestock growers fear that the abortion-inducing disease brucellosis will spread to cattle unless it is eradicated from the wild bison herd through culling and an intrusive vaccination program.
Indians whose ancestors depended on the revered animal argue that bison leaving the park should be sent to tribal lands instead of the slaughter-house." "In describing political compromises among the competing positions, Franke does not so much champion a cause as critique the process by which federal and state officials have made and carried out bison management policies. She shows that science, however valuable a tool, cannot by itself resolve what is ultimately a choice among conflicting values. By clarifying issues and showing policy successes and failures, Franke offers a useful guide for balancing human needs and wildlife autonomy, so that what is wild in Yellowstone's bison can be preserved."--Jacket.
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