The buffalo hunt is even more contentious than so far explained. Ranchers outside Yellowstone are more concerned about brucellosis transmission than forage competition, and that was the big reason for the hunt. Now ranchers are pointing at elk as brucellosis vectors (and they are, to a degree) and asking for control in certain areas. Transmission of disease between more resistant wild ungulates and more easily managed domestic livestock is complex in both epidemiology and policy--but, as in many areas, there is pressure on govt. to do something, anything. Ranchers asking that elk be controlled are also saying that wolves are destroying elk populations and need to be controlled, which is not wholly off the wall but puts the agencies in a strange kind of bind when budgets are low and diverse feelings are high.
I don't believe there are any real clear solutions, but it seems best to keep wild animals wild, give them some room, and keep management minimal. Which brings up another point--that buffalo out of Yellowstone are highly habituated to people and traffic, creating the risk of a public relations fiasco for hunting like the one a few decades ago where buffalo were mowed down by rifle hunters the minute they stepped over the park boundary. These recent hunts were well managed with hunters carefully briefed and spaced out over broad areas away from roads and over a long season. The habituation issue will go away soon enough with that kind of foresight. I'll probably start putting in for a bison permit soon--when I can afford a third large freezer.
I respect Patagonia in large measure for their environmental ethic, which has led, I know, to some substantial and needed donations for fisheries. Go into the Dillon, MT outlet during the annual sale, and many of the shoppers are hunters. I do note that Patagonia is bringing out more and more drab colored clothing, e.g. the whole tan and OD DAS line, and I doubt that's coincidental in a company as aggressive, profitable, and customer service-oriented as Patagucci.
Please do put on anything credible about opposition to caribou and other hunting. For my part, I'll communicate with Patagonia before I turn my back on them. I have to hold myself to the same standard that I hold my kids to--if you don't speak your piece early, you sure as s__t don't get to complain later.
