Working Lands. Conservation. Community.
One of the greatest threats hanging over livestock producers in Park County is having their cattle test positive for Brucellosis. A positive test triggers a quarantine order from the state that can have significant economic impact on the producer’s operation, potentially endangering the viability of the operation.
Brucella abortus is the bacteria that primarily affects cattle, bison, and elk. Brucellosis is spread through direct contact with infected animals or contaminated environments. It can also be spread when infected or exposed animals are introduced to herds that are free of the disease. For livestock producers along the Absaroka Front, co-mingling with infected elk herds during critical times of the year creates the greatest vulnerability.
East Yellowstone Collaborative and PERC (Property and Environment Research Center) have teamed up with a group of Absarokas livestock producers to develop a Brucellosis Compensation Fund that will help ease the financial burden of a positive test that results in a quarantine order. Using the methodology of PERC’s work with Paradise Valley, Montana producers, this working group has shaped a fund that speaks to the specific needs and conditions of the Park County producers.
Capitalized at between $150,000 and $200,000, the Fund will provide cattle producers whose cattle are quarantined under an order from the Wyoming Livestock Commission with per head per month payments to help cover the costs associated with quarantine cattle in response to a brucellosis outbreak. Preserving a cost-sharing component encourages the continued use of best practices to minimize the likelihood of transmission.
The Fund is expected to go live in the winter of 2024-2025 and span a three-year trial period.
The East Yellowstone Collaborative supports the conservation and economic resilience of working lands across the Absaroka Front. We value the essential role private lands play in sustaining wildlife habitat and landscape stewardship.