Those who have ever made it up to Yellowstone National Park will know that one of the most unique things that can be found inside are bison.
The 4,500 plains and mountain bison who call the area around the park home are some of the world’s only descendants of the extinct North American buffalo. Herds of bison wander through Yellowstone’s territory throughout the year and delight tourists who come from far and near to see them in their natural element.
A waterfall in a canyon at Yellowstone National Park is seen.
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Thousands of bison become subject of lawsuit against Yellowstone
But while beautiful and majestic, these bison have become the cause of a legal battle between park authorities and the state of Montana on which approximately 3% of Yellowstone lies (the vast majority of the park is located in Wyoming).
In 2022, the National Park Service (NPS) passed a land management plan aimed at increasing the number of bison in the park to over 6,000. The strategy includes both protection of existing populations and restoring lands for them to roam freely.
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But such a steep increase in the number of bison quickly caught the attention of both local residents and lawmakers. In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for Montana Billings Division, Governor Greg Gianforte claims on behalf of Montanans that the expansion plans failed to account for the spread of a reproductive disease called brucellosis or consult the local residents who will be affected.
“The Department of Livestock is committed to preventing, controlling and eradicating animal disease,” Montana Department of Livestock Director Mike Honeycutt said in a statement. “Given the way NPS has ignored feedback from Montana, we have major concerns about potential threats to animal health from the possible spread of brucellosis.”
Yellowstone responds, calls land management plans necessary
The lawsuit also makes accusations of “federal overreach” and the NPS’ “inability to manage bison” in a conflict that dates back many years.
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“In the 1960s, Yellowstone National Park (YNP) threw active herd management to the wind,” the lawsuit reads further. “The bison population boomed, spilling brucellosis-infected bison into Montana and forcing the State to pick up YNP’s slack in order to protect its livestock industry from the disease.”
At the time the new land management plan was passed last July, NPS authorities justified the decision by saying that it was necessary for purposes of animal and environmental preservation, while an increase from 3,500 to 6,000 bison was reasonable because current research shows that even larger numbers of bison can be bred safely over the next half-decade.
“The decision continues the original purpose of the IBMP to maintain a wild, free ranging bison population and reduce the risk of brucellosis transmission from bison to cattle,” the branch of the government for Yellowstone wrote. “Through this decision, the NPS will prioritize working with American Indian Tribes to transfer brucellosis-free bison to Tribal lands and use harvests to control bison numbers to the extent feasible.”
A court date has not yet been set and, in response to the current lawsuit, a Yellowstone spokesperson said that NPS representatives will review the accusations and “let the legal process play out.”
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