National Park Service looking for hunters to thin bison herd in Grand Canyon

By Andrew Shepperson

Bison grazing in a meadow on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. (Photo: NPS)
The National Park Service is looking for volunteer hunters to help thin a bison herd that is disrupting park operations and resources in the Grand Canyon.
Some of the bison would be moved from the park and others would be hunted in a nearby forest, the Associated Press reported. Shooters would be selected in a lottery to help reduce the bison numbers to around 200 in the northern borders of the park.
Currently, there are 600 bison in the area, and that number could spike to 1,500 within 10 years if no action is taken.
The Grand Canyon is still finalizing the details regarding volunteer hunters, though the Park Service has already approved the reduction plan, modeled after similar programs implemented in Colorado, Wyoming, and the Dakotas aimed to reduce elk herd numbers.
The bison, owned by the state of Arizona, were originally introduced to the area in the early 1900s as part of a ranching plan to crossbreed them with cattle. Now the animals have crossed into the Grand Canyon, where hunting is prohibited and are ruining vegetation and water resources, park officials said.
As part of the reduction plan, volunteer hunters

Source: Guns.com