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Ranchers file legal action against Montana Board of LivestockMontana May 28, ranchers grazing cattle immediately adjacent to the west boundary of Yellowstone National Park along with the Montana Stockgrowers Association filed legal action against the Montana Board of Livestock for careless implementation of the Interagency Bison Management Plan. The 5th Judicial District Court of Montana has been asked to immediately grant area ranchers and MSGA "Writ of Mandamus" against the Montana BOL. This order forces the Montana BOL to immediately remove bison that are grazing and calving on property whose new owners have demanded that the diseased bison be allowed to stay. "Ranchers have patiently and respectfully requested that the Montana BOL properly adhere to their management obligations under the IBMP time and time again. The board has been unresponsive to the livestock industry's requests and has shown no sufficient answer to the industry's concerns," said Bob Sitz, a Southwest Montana rancher and plaintiff in the case. Bill Myers, a rancher who also grazes near the west boundary and another plaintiff in the case said, "We have exhausted all genuine good faith efforts to hold the BOL accountable to protecting our industry. We were left with no other choice but to take legal action against the BOL's inaction." Discovery of brucellosis in a Montana cattle herd last May forced the state to acknowledge the severity of risk posed by brucellosis. In a heightened state of awareness, ranchers responded with affirmative actions to protect their herds, assessing potential risks and developing mitigation plans. The BOL has failed to equal this effort. Their refusal to follow the May 15 IBMP deadline is a breach of temporal separation, creating additional opportunity for spatial violation and increasing the likelihood of disease transmission. The BOL's inactivity flagrantly defies the IBMP and agreements with producers who graze cattle in the affected area. The BOL's failure to take appropriate precautions has jeopardized Montana's class-free status and subjected ranchers to unnecessary risk. The purpose of this legal remedy is to ensure the BOL's compliance with the IBMP and protect the Montana cattle industry from further hardship. "The Montana BOL has failed to adhere to the management actions in the western boundary area for bison for the past three years," said Steve Roth, MSGA president. "The actions are simple. Bison must be hazed back into the park by May 15, and captured or lethally removed after May 15 to ensure none remain outside of the park during the time cattle begin to move into the area." MSGA recognizes that bison management is a controversial and difficult activity, but until brucellosis is eradicated from the Yellowstone National Park bison population, stringent activities are required to keep Montana's brucellosis class-free status, maintain the health of Montana's cattle, and protect the state from the sanctions of other state's and country's animal health authorities. 6/30/08 Date: 6/25/08
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