Johne's issue resolved. Canyonlands Task Force
pleased bureaucratic problem has ended.

After a three-year fight, the Canyonlands Task Force announces that Walter Dabney, Superintendent of Canyonlands National Park, signed a memo admitting that the possibility of llamas transmitting Johne's disease is "negligible" and "transmission of Johne's disease from llamas to bighorn sheep has not been demonstrated."

"This is a culmination of work on the part of many individuals, associations and scientists," said Stan Ebel, Task Force Member. "For many of us, there is a tremendous satisfaction in proving, once again, that the animals we raise and use are indeed careful stewards of the environment."

Problem Started In 1994

Three years ago Walter Dabney, in an effort to ban non-equine pack animals, used his emergency powers to label llamas as potential carriers of Johne's disease. Also known as paratuberculosis, Johne's disease can be a debilitating intestinal disorder transmitted by the ingestion of large quantities of fecal matter from an infected animal.

By exercising these special emergency powers, the NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) process of public hearings was by-passed and the llama community never had an opportunity to refute the claim that llamas posed a threat to the sheep.

Owners alarmed by use of emergency powers
and unfounded charges

The llama owners across the country became alarmed with the implication that llamas might be "disease" carriers. Their greatest fear was fairly simple ... if Walter Dabney's assumption was left unchallenged, the ban on llamas could have spread to other national parks, forest service and BLM lands. In addition, interstate transportation and admittance of llamas in shows at state and county fairs might be called into question.

As a result, the Canyonlands Task Force was formed at Llama Assembly 96 to deal with this accusation.

CSU meeting held to explore claims

In March 1996, in an effort to gather information regarding Johne's disease, the International Llama Association and the Task Force hosted a meeting at Colorado State University, a well-respected university with emphasis in the field of llama medical research, to discuss the risk of Johne's disease to bighorn sheep.

There were over 40 in attendance, including veterinarians and researchers from across the country. Many in this group are considered to be on the leading edge of Johne's disease. In addition, the Task Force was pleased with attendance by federal and state public land managers.

Conclusion is ... llamas OK!

After the all-day meeting, the conclusion reached was that llamas rarely contract the disease and, if they did, the infected llama would be a poor candidate for a pack animal.

Furthermore, in order to transmit the disease, sheep would be required to ingest large quantities of fecal matter from the infected animal over a prolonged period of time.

Conditions not right at Canyonlands

The conditions ideally suited to promoting Johne's are just not present on public lands and certainly not present at Canyonlands. The disease prefers a moderate climate, wet areas and low ultraviolet light. At Canyonlands you will find high temperatures, low humidity and plenty of sunlight; a very hostile environment for the disease organism.

At the end of the day the consensus was that llamas did not pose a real threat to the Bighorn sheep at the Canyonlands National Park. Walter Dabney, Superintendent of that park, was not in attendance but National Park Service spokesman, Bob Moon, who attended said "I don't agree with his (Walter Dabney's) decision but I support his right to make that decision."

Livestock groups support llamas

Immediately following the CSU symposium, members of the Task Force attended the annual meeting of the Western States Livestock Health Association and the Western District United States Animal Health Association joint meeting held in Reno, Nevada.

Dr. LaRue Johnson of CSU gave a summary report of the Johne's symposium. Following his report a resolution was passed recommending that "no public lands be closed to llamas without sufficient scientific evidence indicating that disease transmission will occur."

Others join in support

As the Task Force's success became more widely known, many other respected authorities in the field of veterinary science had this to say:

• The American Association for Small Ruminant Practitioners issued the following statement " . . . Scientific evidence does not justify a ban of llamas on public lands . . ."
• The Executive Committee of the United States Animal Health Association, which includes all 50 state veterinarians, adopted the following resolution, ". . . USAHA recommends that no public lands be closed to llamas accompanied by people for the reason of Johne's disease . . ."
• The BLM stated ". . . the BLM will not consider banning llamas or other domestic species from the public lands based on its current understanding of Johne's disease . . ."
• Oregon State University Veterinarian Dr. Stanley Snyder stated ". . . As a reason for keeping llamas out of areas of our national forests, etc., the threat of llamas disseminating Johne's disease to wild ruminants is quite remote. In Oregon, where Johne's disease in cattle, sheep and goats is quite common and where llama raising is extremely popular, we have not had even a single confirmed case of Johne's disease in llamas . . ."

Is there a culprit?

The scientific evidence had no impact on the llama ban at Canyonlands.

According to experts on Johne's Disease at the CSU meeting, cattle are the most common livestock known to contract the disease. A large herd of free ranging cattle are just outside the north entrance to the park and were of little concern to park officials.

This is further evidence that the original ban was based on the desire to restrict non-equine pack stock and was not a disease issue.

Johne's was a convenient excuse used to by-pass public hearings on the ban. Many land managers probably viewed Walter Dabney as a rouge Superintendent operating with little support from the scientific community or from fellow Park personnel.

Glacier National Park explained, "after several months of information gathering, consultation and evaluation, Park officials have decided not to prohibit the use of llamas as pack animals in the park's backcountry. This measure was being considered due to the possibility that llamas could transmit Johne's disease to native mountain goats and bighorn sheep."

The Kofa National Wildlife Refuge & Wilderness had included, as a part of a comprehensive long-range plan, to ban llamas from their park due to disease concerns. This proposed ban was based entirely on memos originating with Superintendent Dabney. The Canyonlands Task Force forwarded information gathered at the CSU meeting onto Kofa for their review.

Kofa not only struck the llama ban from their proposal, but went on to apologize to the Task Force for having even considered such a ban.

Other concerns

The main concern of the Canyonlands Task Force was that other public land managers might inadvertently assume the Canyonlands ban might have been a valid concern.

Task Force and Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher
and llama groups prepared suit

Therefore to set the record straight, the Canyonlands Task Force working with their attorneys at Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher in Denver drafted a formal complaint that would lead to a suit in Federal Court by the Rocky Mountain Llama and Alpaca Association, Inc., the Utah Llama Association and their members.

The suit points out that the Superintendent did not follow proper NEPA procedures in his ban. It went on to state that there was no support for such a ban from those in the scientific community.

In an out-of-court settlement, Superintendent Dabney agreed to issue a memorandum stating that llamas are not carriers of Johne's disease.

Even though the ban on non-equine pack stock will continue, this is considered a major victory for llama owners nationwide.

Should we have taken Walter Dabney to court?

The primary concern of the llama community was to eliminate the unfounded disease rumors. The "junk science" behind the Johne's disease issue had spread beyond Canyonlands and even into Canada. Faced with what the government attorney conceded was a credible and persuasive argument, the Superintendent and the National Park Service agreed to an out-of-court settlement in which the Superintendent retracted his disease-based rationale for prohibiting the use of llamas in the Park -- an outcome probably unachievable in court.

In light of the uncertainty and expense of litigation, the Canyonlands Task Force agreed to this settlement in order to lay the disease issue to rest. In doing so, the Superintendent had to publicly admit what veterinarians have been saying all along: llamas do not pose a Johne's disease threat. Finally, the Settlement Agreement preserves the right of the llama community to revisit future access issues, as they arise, in the parks of the Southeastern Utah group.

Support from many

Canyonlands Task Force committee members, Stan Ebel, Bob Riley, and Scott Woodruff would like to knowledge the contributions from llama and alpaca owners and organizations who have donated to the Lama Legal Defense Fund. The LLDF funds have paid the out-of-pocket expense at Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher.

The Canyonlands Task Force would like to thank David Schieferstein, attorney and alpaca breeder from Ft. Collins, Colorado, who attended Assembly '96. David made the introduction with Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher that led to their representing the Task Force on a pro bono basis. Had we not had Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher working on our behalf pro bono, we would have had to raise nearly $100,000 to duplicate their efforts. Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher lent us their very best attorneys, Craig Richardson, Jeffrey Oraker and Brian Casey.

The llama community owes a debt of gratitude that we will never be able to repay.

The past President of the International Llama Association and skilled attorney, Donald Christ, helped us to understand the finer points of law. Few people will ever know the time and money Donald has contributed. We doubt that we could have been as successful without him.

The successful outcome of the Canyonlands issue must be credited to the 130 alpaca and llama owners nationwide who contributed to the Lama Legal Defense Fund. This fund was managed by Rocky Mountain Llama and Alpaca Association. RMLA and the Utah Llama Association and other individuals were named plaintiffs on the proposed suit that was instrumental in producing the out-of-court settlement.

For additional information, please contact:

Canyonlands Task Force

Settlement Agreement (This is what we agreed to.)
Dabney's Memo (Llamas are not a threat!)
The Complaint for Injunctive Relief (This was our complaint)
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