And now:Sonja Keohane <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: From the Boseman Chronicle. Anybody know what happened to the statement APHIS made in the winter of 96-97 that said allowing the bison to wander into Montana would not cause them to rescind Montana's brucellosis free status? If that is still true, then there is no reason to haze? <http://www3.gomontana.com/> Hazing operation continues The Montana Department of Livestock hazed dozens of bison into Yellowstone National Park north of West Yellowstone Wednesday, though there is disagreement over just how many animals were involved and whether the operation did any good. More bison remain outside the park, and those animals will be chased into the park as soon as possible, DOL acting chief Marc Bridges said in a press release. Wednesday's actions affected 45 bison, DOL said, and was the sixth such effort so far this winter. The protest group Buffalo Nations, which is monitoring bison operations in the area, said there were 50 bison in the group, which had been in the Duck Creek area near the junction of highways 191 and 287. The group also accused livestock officials of chasing 35 elk that were in the area at the time. DOL officials could not be reached for comment late Wednesday. DOL says it is hazing the animals so they won't have to be killed. About half of the park's bison test positive for exposure to brucellosis, though a much smaller number are actively infected. Montana's beef herds enjoy a brucellosis-free status and the industry says that status could be imperiled if possibly infected animals are allowed to wander in the state. Buffalo Nations and other bison advocates maintain DOL's fears of disease transmission are overblown and that hazing the animals stresses them by making them run through deep snow. In past winters, hazing has been marginally effective. As snows pile up in the park and forage is increasingly hard to reach, bison become more determined to leave and find something to eat. That's when they enter the controversy -- and frequently the crosshairs -- in Montana.