Volunteer Hunters Needed to Thin Grand Canyon Bison Herd

400 of the animals need to be shot within 5 years
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 11, 2017 6:35 PM CDT
Updated Sep 12, 2017 4:33 AM CDT
Volunteer Hunters Needed to Thin Grand Canyon Bison Herd
FILE- In this Aug. 26, 2010, file photo provided by the Kaibab National Forest, bison in the national forest adjacent to the Grand Canyon in Northern Arizona group together. The National Park Service has a plan to thin the bison population around the Grand Canyon through roundups and by seeking volunteers...   (Uncredited)

The National Park Service plans to thin a herd of bison in the Grand Canyon through roundups—and by seeking physically fit volunteers who are proficient with a gun to kill the animals, which are increasingly damaging park resources, AP reports. Some bison would be shipped out of the area and others legally hunted on the adjacent forest. Within the Grand Canyon, shooters would be selected through a lottery to help bring the number of bison roaming the far northern reaches of the park to no more than 200 within three to five years. Some 600 of the animals now live in the region, and biologists say the bison numbers could hit 1,500 within 10 years if left uncontrolled.

The Grand Canyon is still working out details of the volunteer effort, but it's taking cues from national parks in Colorado, the Dakotas, and Wyoming that have used shooters to cut overabundant or diseased populations of elk. The Park Service gave final approval to the bison reduction plan this month. Sandy Bahr of the Sierra Club says she's hopeful Grand Canyon will focus mostly on non-lethal removal. The bison have been moving in recent years within the Grand Canyon boundaries where open hunting is prohibited. Park officials say they're trampling on vegetation and spoiling water resources. The reduction plan would allow volunteers working in a team with a Park Service employee to shoot bison using non-lead ammunition to protect endangered California condors that feed on gut piles. (More Grand Canyon stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X