The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Managing Yellowstone's Bison

Snow has arrived and that means Yellowstone bison will soon start making their way out of the park interior and into the Gardiner Basin and what I call “the killing zone.” Bison can be shot when they step hoof out of Yellowstone after the November 15 start of the Montana bison “hunt.” And even before they leave the park many will be captured and shipped to slaughter. Today I begin a series of posts about the mismanagement of our national mammal. While these posts may be hard to stomach, it’s imperative that we understand not only how bison are mistreated but what is behind the mistreatment. Let’s start with a roundup of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

THE GOOD: Yellowstone National Park has been allowed to transfer more than 100 bison to the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in northeastern Montana. These wild bison were captured in Yellowstone and prior to transfer spent months behind a fence enduring quarantine and brucellosis testing. Once at Fort Peck, they will be quarantined and tested yet again before they can roam public lands or transfer to other Tribes across the U.S. 

“Yellowstone buffalo are important to Tribes because they are the genetically-pure descendants of the buffalo our ancestors lived with,” said Tribal Chairman Floyd Azure, in a press release. “The return of the buffalo is a return of our culture. Fort Peck is committed to expanding quarantine and sharing these animals with other Tribes across the country.” Sixteen Tribes are in line to receive bison.

THE BAD: Yellowstone’s controversial quarantine program is a required step to get  bison out of the park and to the Tribes because Montana has no tolerance for bison outside Yellowstone. To appease the politically powerful livestock industry, Montana legislators passed a law making it illegal to move wild bison exposed to brucellosis anywhere except to Montana slaughter houses and research facilities. This managing of Yellowstone’s bison—our national mammal—with confinement and death is done in the name of protecting cattle from brucellosis. But is that even necessary?

Brucellosis can be transmitted from elk or bison to cattle and cause infected livestock to abort calves and ranchers to lose money. But there has never been a documented case of brucellosis transfer from bison to cattle in the wild. Ironically, the transfer originally went in the other direction: cattle transferred brucellosis to bison in the early days of the park when cattle were kept in Yellowstone to provide milk and meat for visitors.

Elk, on the other hoof, have transmitted brucellosis to cattle numerous times—with no lasting harm to Montana’s profitable livestock industry. Elk are not confined to the park, are not captured and slaughtered like bison. Elk are not viewed as livestock, are not under the control of the Montana Department of Livestock as bison are once they leave the park. Elk are seen as wildlife, as trophies, to be hunted and mounted. Bison are used as brucellosis scapegoats to be confined and killed. 

The Ugly: Bison are managed under the Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP). That plan was written in 2000 and is out of date and needs to be updated based on science now available. The plan was written by a court-ordered coalition of federal and state agencies: National Park Service, US Forest Service, USDA-Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, Montana Department of Livestock, and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Three Native American groups, the InterTribal Buffalo Council, the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes, and the Nez Perce Tribe, joined the IBMP later. 

Every member organization is responsible for IBMP meeting its goals of confining bison within Yellowstone and reducing the park’s population from 5,000 to 3,000 bison. 

To meet those goals, the IBMP arranges to remove hundreds of bison each winter. Many are killed just barely outside the park in the three-month Montana hunting season. More are captured at Yellowstone’s Stephens Creek facility. While some are kept in quarantine so they can eventually be shipped alive to Tribes, the majority will be hauled by Tribal members to slaughter houses. The Tribes then share the meat and hides. The capture and slaughter lasts a month or more. All told, the lives of Yellowstone bison are at risk for at least four months each year. 

Since 1985 more than 12,575 of Yellowstone’s genetically pure bison have been killed by hunting or slaughter, according to Buffalo Field Campaign. 

The good, the bad, and the ugly add up to a deadly deal for bison, our national mammal. The fight to improve the conditions for bison is long and hard and won’t end anytime soon.

To find actions you can take to protect bison: Buffalo Field Campaign. 

Photo Credit: Bison at top of post by Rick Lamplugh

Rick Lamplugh writes and photographs to protect wildlife and wild lands.

His bestselling In the Temple of Wolves; its sequel, Deep into Yellowstone; and its prequel, The Wilds of Aging are available signed. 

His books are also available unsigned or as eBook or audiobook on Amazon.