Uncategorized
‘Carrots and sticks’
Published
5 years agoon
Posted By
Outlaw PartnersGroup discusses tools to combat brucellosis
By Jessianne Castle EBS ENVIRONMENTAL & OUTDOORS EDITOR
BOZEMAN – Following extensive efforts in the last decade to minimize the spread of brucellosis from elk to cattle, a group of stakeholders, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the Department of Livestock are collaborating to further reduce the spread of the contagious disease within elk herds.
During an annual meeting of the Brucellosis Elk Working Group facilitated by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks on July 25, the 10-member citizen panel brainstormed tools the wildlife department can use to reduce elk-to-elk transmission. As early as the 1990s, brucellosis has been a target of research and public attention since it causes abortion in livestock, elk and bison and is transmitted through reproductive tissue like afterbirth. Humans can also contract the illness.
Last year, one elk tested positive out of 100 captured during routine surveillance efforts in the Tendoy Mountains southwest of Dillon—an area that was outside the zone where brucellosis has already been found. This prompted the fourth expansion since 2010 of the Designated Surveillance Area, a swath of land extending north to Three Forks and south to the Yellowstone National Park boundary, and stretching east and west from Carbon County to Dillon.
Within the DSA, the Department of Livestock requires producers to vaccinate and test for the disease, and institutes quarantines if any animals are found to have exposure to the disease. Many livestock producers fear federal brucellosis regulations threaten the viability of the livestock industry within the Greater Yellowstone, thus driving some landowner intolerance for elk; if one domestic cow tests positive for the disease, the entire herd and all neighboring herds are placed under a quarantine that can last for months.
“It scares the hell out of me to think about the DSA expanding for the next 100 years to the entire Western U.S. and I think that’s a real possibility,” said Lorents Grosfield, a cattle rancher from Big Timber and a member of the working group. “So for the long term, we should take the responsibility of looking at it and seeing if we can come up with anything. I realize it’s going to be very difficult.”
While a relatively effective vaccination is available for use in cattle, further research to develop a more effective vaccination that could also be used on elk is restricted as long as the bacteria remains on the Select Agent and Toxins List. This directory compiled by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prohibits handling of biological agents that pose a significant threat to people, plants and animals.
A large portion of the meeting was dedicated to conversations about immunocontraception, a birth control method that uses the body’s immune response to prevent pregnancy for a given period of time. Several drugs have been developed and successfully used on wild horses and urban deer to prevent over-population.
Members of the group voiced interest in exploring whether contraception could be used on a small scale in elk captured for research to prevent pregnancy in diseased cow elk—and thus prevent abortion and the spread of the disease—in herds that are already above population objectives.
According to DOL brucellosis program veterinarian Eric Liska, additional research into the impacts of the immunocontraceptive on elk, as well as public outreach and review, would be necessary before any serious discussion of implementation.
They also considered whether hazing, or driving a group of elk away from another group or site, could be selectively used to prevent infected elk from mingling with healthy elk.
“Some of these tools are basically carrots or sticks,” said group member Ken Hamlin, retired FWP biologist from Bozeman. “We’ve mostly been dealing with sticks and I think we need to investigate and be pushing a little more for some of the carrot approach for attracting elk to certain areas rather than the stick approach of trying to push them.”
As noted by the group, this method includes habitat improvements or changes in the hunting season that could draw elk away from cattle or reduce their tendency to congregate in large herds.
“I think as a group we have to be careful not to not let ourselves think about something and do something because it seems small,” said Paradise Valley cattle producer Druska Kinkie, a member of the working group. “Sometimes only the small things can grow and make a difference.”
During the conversation, Wildlife Management Section Chief Quentin Kujala commended the group for their productivity. “We think this is one of our better assisted working groups,” he said. “I don’t see so many advocates sitting at this table as folks chasing a solution.”
At the meeting’s conclusion, the group determined to meet a second time in August to further discuss ways of preventing the spread of brucellosis in elk.
Visit fwp.mt.gov/fishAndWildlife/management/elk/workingGroups/areasWithBrucellosisWG for more information.
The Outlaw Partners is a creative marketing, media and events company based in Big Sky, Montana.
Upcoming Events
april, 2024
Event Type :
All
All
Arts
Education
Music
Other
Sports
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before 9/10/2024:
more
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before
9/10/2024: Kindergarten
enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year can be completed by following the
registration process now.
Children
born on or after September 11, 2019: 4K enrollment is now open for
families that have a 4-year-old they would like to enroll in our program for
the 2023-2024 school year. Please complete the 4K Interest Form to
express your interest. Completing this form does not guarantee enrollment into
the 4K program. Enrollment is capped at twenty 4-year-olds currently
residing within Big Sky School District boundary full time and will be
determined by birth date in calendar order of those born on or after September
11, 2018. Interest form closes on May 30th.
Enrollment now is critical for fall preparations. Thank you!
Time
February 26 (Monday) - April 21 (Sunday)
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
more
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
Time
March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
Location
Santosha Wellness Center
169 Snowy Mountain Circle
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
more
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28, 2024
Noon until 6PM.
$170.
Time
14 (Sunday) 12:00 pm - 28 (Sunday) 6:00 pm
Event Details
Come join us at Cowboy Coffee as we celebrate a fun night of drinks, games, and meeting others within the community. This event is from 6-8 and all are welcome
Event Details
Come join us at Cowboy Coffee as we celebrate a fun night of drinks, games, and meeting others within the community. This event is from 6-8 and all are welcome to come, if you don’t know who to bring come alone this is a great mixer event! This is an event hosted by Big Sky OUT as we work to provide queer safe spaces throughout the community.
Time
(Sunday) 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Location
Cowboy Coffee
25 Town Center Ave. Big Sky, MT 59716