LAST DAY to COMMENT on Yellowstone's Bison Management

Park officials want to evaluate bison management based on new scientific information and changed circumstances. They want to explore ways to reduce bison being sent to slaughter, while continuing to work closely with Tribal Nations and agency partners in bison management. And they want to hear how you want our national mammal treated. 

Last month the park announced a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the park’s Bison Management Plan. The EIS will also consider bison management actions that could occur on lands outside the park in Montana, while acknowledging that Yellowstone National Park does not have control over actions such as hunting or tolerance for bison beyond the park boundary.

The park's goal is to preserve an ecologically sustainable population of wild, wide-ranging bison while continuing to work with other agencies to address issues related to brucellosis transmission, human safety, property damage, and to support tribal hunting outside the park.

The EIS presents three alternatives that would manage bison with varying population ranges and management activities.

Alternative 1 (No Action, Continue Current Management): 

Under Alternative 1, the park would:

• Continue management of bison according to the more than 20-year-old Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP).
• Maintain a population range of bison similar to the last two decades—3,500 to 5,000 bison after calving.
• Continue coordinating bison capture at Stephens Creek with hunting opportunities outside the park.
• Increase the number of brucellosis-free bison relocated to tribal lands via the Bison Conservation Transfer Program. (The BCTP aims to avoid slaughtering hundreds of Yellowstone bison; instead the park transfers live bison to Tribal Nations. By shipping instead of slaughtering, the BCTP supports the culture and economy of Native Americans and preserves the unique Yellowstone bison genome.)
• Work with the State of Montana to manage the already low risk of brucellosis spreading from bison to cattle.

Alternative 2 (Enhance Restoration and Tribal Engagement): 

Under Alternative 2:

• Bison would be managed within a larger population range—4,500 to 6,000 bison after calving.
• The park would emphasize using the BCTP and tribal hunting outside the park to regulate numbers. 
• The park might use proactive measures such as low stress hazing of bison toward the park boundary to increase tribal hunting opportunities outside the park. 
• The park would reduce shipment to slaughter based on the needs and requests of Tribal Nations.

Alternative 3 (Food-limited Carrying Capacity): 

Under Alternative 3:

• The park would rely on natural selection, bison dispersal, and public and tribal harvests in Montana as the primary tools to regulate numbers. Bison population would be the largest—5,500 to 8,000 or more bison after calving. 
• The park would immediately stop capturing bison at Stephens Creek for shipment to slaughter. 
• The park would continue capturing bison at Stephens Creek to maintain the transfer to tribes as in Alternatives 1 and 2.

The LAST DAY to submit your comments is TODAY.  The deadline is Monday, February 28. (See below for details.)

At the conclusion of the 30-day public comment period, the NPS will analyze and consider all comments received and refine the Draft EIS. The Draft EIS will then be released for a 45-day public review and comment period in fall 2022.

Sources for Writing Comments

In preparing my comments, I had lengthy discussions with a representative of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition (GYC). On its website, GYC states it is “working to end decades of hazing and slaughtering bison that migrate beyond Yellowstone’s boundaries. The Tribes of Fort Peck, InterTribal Buffalo Council, National Park Service, and non-profit partners like GYC are working to give bison the best chance at meaningful restoration, despite the considerable logistical and political barriers in place. Central to these efforts is the Bison Conservation Transfer Program and the collaborative partnership working to support and expand it to reduce the need for Yellowstone bison culling.” You can read more about GYC's position here.

I also studied the Buffalo Field Campaign's response to the EIS. BFC is asking for “consideration of managing wild buffalo like wild elk to expand the range of alternatives for people to comment on. BFC is also asking Yellowstone National Park to stop slaughtering buffalo.” You can read more about BFC's position here.

I also drew upon my experience of the last seven years when I have observed, researched, and written about Yellowstone’s bison management and the bison hunt. I have also toured the bison capture facility at Stephens Creek. I have talked with numerous NPS staff about bison management.  

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The LAST DAY to submit your comments  is TODAY, February 28. Your comments can be short or long. You can simply say which alternative you prefer. Or if you don't like any of the alternatives, just tell NPS how you want to see bison managed. 

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I submitted the following comment:

I am a Montana author and wildlife advocate. I live in Gardiner. For the last seven years, I have observed, researched, and written about Yellowstone’s bison management and hunt. The annual hunt that occurs primarily in Beattie Gulch is not fair chase; I describe it as a firing squad.  I have toured the bison capture facility at Stephens Creek, both when bison were present and when they were not. I have seen the stress that capturing causes in bison. I have talked with numerous park staff about bison management. Many have said they don't want to be managing bison with capture and slaughter.

I ask that wild bison be treated like wild elk. Bison, our national mammal, should be able to roam freely across this nation. Bison should not be confined to Yellowstone and a small--and practically unreachable--tolerance zone (only for male bison) just north of the park. 

I understand that the state of Montana is dead set against free-roaming bison. But that’s Montana’s position. I think that Yellowstone National Park should state clearly that it wants bison to be “free-roaming” not just “wide-ranging.” The park should not be in the business of managing bison; the park doesn't manage any other wildlife.

Given that Montana will probably never allow free-roaming bison, I also support Alternative 3. I support immediately stopping the shipment of our national mammal to slaughter. I support shipping bison to Tribal Nations so that Yellowstone’s genetically pure bison can return to some of their original range. 

Photo Credits:

Bison on road at top of post by Mary Strickroth

Bison standing in water by Mary Strickroth

All other photos by Rick Lamplugh

Award-winning Indie author Rick Lamplugh writes and photographs to protect wildlife and wild lands. 

His award-winning book 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. 

You can also join Rick in his latest writing adventure, a free weekly letter to subscribers entitled Love the Wild. You’ll find excerpts from his books, podcasts, photo essays, opinion pieces, and more. All aim to excite your mind and warm your heart.

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