About 350 bison pushed into park during first day of hazing

A helicopter buzzed over Horse Butte peninsula Wednesday morning, turning back and forth above the brush- and tree-covered land where hundreds Yellowstone bison have been wintering. Four-wheelers and horseback riders joined the helicopter to haze about 350 of the animals back into Yellowstone National Park, assisted by a convoy of state and federal officials. The bison trotted in neat lines down forest service roads with small calves running to keep up at their sides. A string of them struck out across U.S. Highway 191, temporarily blocking the roadway for cars, trucks and tractor-trailers. The helicopter roared and clamored above them, and horseback riders rode behind and to the sides of the animals. By the end of the day, only about 60 bison remained west of the park, according to Steve Merritt, a spokesman for the Montana Department of Livestock. The bison are hazed into the park every spring as ranchers bring cattle to summer grazing pastures in the area. The two species aren't allowed to co-exist because of a fear that bison may spread the disease brucellosis to livestock...more