By MATTHEW BROWN
Associated Press Writer
BILLINGS, Mont. – With 88 bison from Yellowstone National Park facing possible slaughter, billionaire Ted Turner has swept in and offered to hold the animals for five years on his sprawling Montana ranch while a new home for them is found.
But Turner, ever the shrewd businessman, won’t do it for nothing. The media mogul says he will care for the bison only if he can keep up to 90 percent of their offspring.
And in the Rocky Mountain West – where wildlife is cherished both for its aesthetic value and as meat on the table – the plan is stoking a sharp debate over the role of deep-pocketed private entities in conservation.