Bison problem? Let Arizona hunters deal with it

• Nearly 600 unwanted bison have migrated into Grand Canyon National Park%2C causing environmental damage
• The Park Service plans to hire sharpshooters to cull the herd
• Instead%2C Arizona hunters should be allowed to take bison and keep the meat

The Grand Canyon has a buffalo problem.

By some estimates, nearly 600 unwanted bison have migrated inside Grand Canyon National Park from their range on the Kaibab National Forest. The impact of these one-ton mammals has been dramatic, as they have gone to work chowing down pristine grasses, trampling native vegetation and crushing hidden archaeological sites inside the park.

The damage is so bad that the National Park Service is now developing a plan that includes culling the herd.

To be clear: These bison aren't the genuine, iconic American buffalo seen roaming Yellowstone National Park or the Great Plains. They're actually the brood of a bison-cattle crossbreeding experiment that was abandoned in the 1900s.

These northern Arizona "beefalo" may look like bison, but they graze like cattle, and the Park Service is now left with no choice but to use lethal means to reach a more manageable number.

The federal government's standard practice today is to spend money hiring private sharpshooters to kill and remove animals overpopulating an area. The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior spend roughly $100 million on projects like this each year.

As an alternative, we believe the Park Service should enlist volunteer Arizona hunters to help protect and preserve the Grand Canyon. Sportsmen are the most skilled and knowledgeable wildlife advocates, and they are more than ready to lend a hand without asking for a dime of tax money in compensation.

Outside of Grand Canyon National Park, the bison hunt is among the most coveted Arizona hunting opportunities. Only a handful of tags are issued annually at a cost of more than $1,000 each. It would not take much to rally volunteers to track the bison hiding inside national park borders where hunting is restricted.

Enlisting citizens to cull animal populations inside national parks without transforming the land into game preserves is not a new concept. As recently as 2012, a number of hunters in Colorado were employed to cull an exploding elk population inside Rocky Mountain National Park.

State-licensed hunters should be permitted to do the same in Arizona under closely monitored conditions, in coordination with the Arizona Game and Fish Commission.

We also believe that volunteer sportsmen helping to cull the herd should be allowed to take the carcass of the bison they hunt. Under a narrow interpretation of current federal regulations, animal meat harvested on Park Service property must be donated to charity.

That is why we recently introduced the Grand Canyon Bison Management Act in both Houses of Congress, bipartisan legislation that would allow volunteer hunters to keep the bison in exchange for their work helping protect the Park.

As the Parks Service works to reduce the exploding bison population in Grand Canyon National Park, it should save taxpayer dollars to put Arizona hunters to work doing what they love, and accomplish this important task for free.

Sen. John McCain is Arizona's senior senator. Rep. Paul Gosar serves the 4th District, which includes much of north-central and northwest Arizona.