Bison and Brucellosis

Yellowstone National Park officials are considering capturing and shooting elk infected with brucellosis-- a disease from a bacterial infection that can cause cattle to abort their calves. This would be an extension of the policy that is in effect with the bison population in the Park.

Recently ranchers in Montana and Wyoming found their cattle, which graze near the Park, infected with brucellosis. The most likely culprit is an infected elk population. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) downgrades states that test positive for brucellosis, thereby impacting the cattle industry in those states.

Since 2002, the federal government has spent $19 million to physically separate livestock and wildlife. More than 6,000 bison have been killed while trying to leave Yellowstone in an effort to maintain separation between bison and cattle. In 2008 a record number of bison were killed trying to leave the Park. Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) opposes the current policy and says it has been a failure. There are no recorded cases of brucellosis transmission between bison and cattle.

The U.S. Cattleman's Association has identified Yellowstone as the last remaining reservoir for bovine brucellosis in the nation. In an effort to eradicate the disease, which poses a threat to the brucellosis-free status of cattle herds in Montana and Wyoming, they advocate thinning bison and elk herds. Between 1,500-2,000 head of cattle need to be tested in Montana at a cost of $12-15 per head to certify they are brucellosis free.

Wildlife advocates suggest thinning wildlife populations is not the answer. Rather they point to policies that would manage wildlife and cattle interactions. They also suggest that Wyoming's policy of feeding elk herds during the winter may spread the disease because elk cluster during the feedings. Brucella exposure rates run around 14% in elk herds which cluster during feeding, as opposed to 1-2% elsewhere.

In southern Montana, state official and ranchers are collaborating to work on a plan to reduce transmission. The plan involves additional testing, monitoring and identifying new patterns of grazing to separate cattle and wildlife spatially and temporally.

Greenland Glacier Crack

The Petermann Glacier, the Northern Hemisphere's largest floating glacier, has a crack and an 11 square mile chunk (about the size of Manhattan) may be breaking off. A similar crack was seen in the 1990s. It is not clear if the crack is related to climate change.

Fire Transfers

In five of the last seven years the US Forest Service firefighting branch has raided the coffers of the rest of agency to pay for expensive wildfire seasons. If Congress doesn't appropriate more money to fight fire, the agency simply can't walk away from fires in progress. It is left with pulling money from everywhere else in the agency to continue its fire fighting work. Estimates range from $400-700 million dollars that will need to come from the rest of the agency to cover fire costs for the 2008 season.

Congress appropriated $1.2 billion for suppression this year. With the $400 million infusion from the non-wildfire Forest Service programs, that total will rise to $1.6 billion. Fire funding accounts for nearly 50% of the total agency budget.

The House passed the Federal Land Assistance, Management and Enhancement Act or FLAME to provide special funding for wildfires. Congress adjourned before the Senate could follow up. Stay tuned to see what will happen when they return after Labor Day and the Republican National Convention.

Is Climate Change Driving the Wildfire Problem?

A new report by the National Wildlife Federation draws attention to how climate change and the century long practice of fire suppression have made forests vulnerable to uncharacteristic wildfires.

According to climate scientists, fire season lasts longer than it did about 20 years ago. Snow pack now melts earlier than it did 50 years ago. In the next 40 years, drier conditions are expected throughout western North America accompanied by a 3.6-9 degree F temperature increase. Thunderstorms are anticipated to be more severe, thereby leading to increases in lighting strikes.

So, yes, climate clearly has a role in the larger, more intense and longer wildfires that we have witnessed in the last decade here in the United States. But is that the whole story?

Wildfires are a problem insofar as they affect humans. If humans weren't here, then we wouldn't care how intense or long or big wildfires were. So what is the problem from a human standpoint?

Wildfires today cost more and usually entail greater human and property loss. Additionally, the US Forest Service has spent in excess of $1 billion in five of the last seven years fighting fires. When the Forest Service spends so much on fire fighting, that means they have less to spend on being proactive in addressing the problem. A vicious cycle is perpetuated. Until the Forest Service resolves its budget problems and can do more on the ground to manage its forests, we will be stuck paying for expensive wildfires.

The NWF report doesn't really address the role of more people living in the wildland urban interface (WUI), which also contributes to greater costs and wildfire risk. When more people live close to where wildfires occur, then resources have to be dedicated to protecting people and property and that drives up costs. Until counties, municipalities and homeowners take greater responsibility for what it means to live in hazardous areas, then the costs for wildfire will continue to rise.

The National Wildlife Federation suggests focusing on reducing greenhouse gasses as a policy solution. Focusing on climate change as a policy fix leaves us with a loooooong time horizon for resolution. We need to remedy the shorter term budget and management problems that make it difficult to manage the land sustainably.