People are getting more time to comment on proposed bison management changes at Yellowstone National Park.
Comments may now be submitted until Oct. 10. The previous deadline was Monday, Sept. 25.
The park service says conditions have changed since the current bison management plan was devised 23 years ago. Managers say there is new information about how bison live and migrate in and out of the park and react to changing weather conditions.
Last winter saw significant snowfall in the northern part of the park and large numbers of bison migrated out of the park in search of food. That led to a harvest of more than 1,000 bison by tribal hunters and 75 animals by state hunters.
There are three proposals for managing bison in the future.
The first is to change nothing. That calls for a population of 3,500 to 5,000 bison after calving each year.
The second proposal bumps up the bison population goal to a maximum of 6,000 animals and relies on tribal hunting and transfer of disease-free animals to tribal lands.
The third proposal increases the maximum bison population to 7,000 animals. Natural selection and bison dispersal to other parts of the park or public lands, plus the relocation program would be used to control the population.
Comments may be mailed or hand-delivered to: Superintendent, Attn: Bison Management Plan, PO Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190.
You can also submit comments online by visiting the National Park Service website.
