Lawsuit challenges bison transfer to Ted Turner

A coalition of wildlife advocates Tuesday asked a Montana judge to overturn an agreement that allowed dozens of Yellowstone National Park bison to be transferred onto billionaire Ted Turner’s private ranch. Four wildlife groups that opposed last month’s transfer filed a lawsuit in Gallatin County claiming that the animals are a public resource that should be shielded from privatization. Turner has agreed to take care of the animals for five years. In exchange, he gets 75 percent of their offspring, or an estimated 150 animals. The suit’s plaintiffs said the state should either move the animals onto public land or pay Turner to take care of them rather than give up their young as compensation. “They need to remain in public hands,” said plaintiff Glenn Hockett with the Gallatin Wildlife Association. “Paying him by bartering the public’s wildlife is a violation of the public trust.”...read more

There are privately held bison all over the place, so what in the hell is he talking about?