Nearly 3000 People Commented on Yellowstone Bison Plan

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — More than 2,800 individual letters and online comments have been submitted during the initial public comment period on the future of Yellowstone bison.

Acting chief of the Yellowstone Center for Resources Jennifer Carpenter tells the Bozeman Daily Chronicle that she expects more comments to arrive by mail later this week and that she expected a surge before Monday night's deadline. The state of Montana and Yellowstone National Park is looking to rewrite the Interagency Bison Management Plan. Yellowstone's 4,900 bison have been managed under the plan since 2001.

Wildlife officials say the plan is outdated and earlier this year presented alternative proposals for managing the animals. The park will turn the comments over to Denver-based environmental consulting firm Louis Berger Group, which will complete a report on the comments.