For more than two decades, Yellowstone National Park has been forced to manage our most ecologically and culturally significant wild bison herd through annual capture and slaughter. Recently, Yellowstone made the monumental decision to move away from bison management focused on population reduction and slaughter, and instead focus on providing Tribal treaty hunting opportunities and entering more animals into the newly expanded Bison Conservation Transfer Program, which holds bison for quarantine before eventually distributing them to appropriate Tribal and—someday—public lands outside Yellowstone.  

You never forget seeing your first bison in Yellowstone National Park. These ecosystem engineers are nothing short of miraculous and evoke awe in all who encounter them. Yellowstone is the only place where wild bison have continuously lived since prehistoric times and their historic, ecological, and cultural significance is unparalleled in the region.  

Unfortunately, Yellowstone bison have long been managed more like livestock than wildlife. Human development, low tolerance for bison on the landscape outside the park, and archaic regulations make it nearly impossible for bison to follow natural, seasonal migration patterns that take them outside the park boundaries. In the past, Yellowstone National Park has been forced to significantly limit bison numbers well below biological carrying capacity estimates, as well as their access to lands outside the park through annual slaughter and hazing.   Now, the park is making meaningful strides in more progressive bison management. 

At the Interagency Bison Management Plan partners meeting on November 30, 2022, Yellowstone National Park stated their intent to move away from bison management focused on population reduction and slaughter toward a management regime rooted in ecological and cultural restoration and providing Tribal treating hunting opportunities. Specifically, the park stated they would no longer manage toward a defined removal objective to reach state-imposed, outdated, and politically driven population objectives. Barring any significant conflicts, the park will only trap bison for the purpose of entering them into the Bison Conservation Transfer Program [learn more about why bison need to be quarantined before restoration here]. The park hopes to enter 200 or more bison into the program this winter. This is a monumental shift for bison management and something we should all celebrate as the year comes to an end!

For decades, the State of Montana has been forcing a constrained and reduced bison population on Yellowstone National Park. The annual slaughter stemmed from a court settlement after Montana sued the park to drastically limit Yellowstone bison numbers and restrict their ability to move out of the park due to low tolerance and a desire to maintain separation from cattle. Now, with increased capacity within quarantine facilities, more bison can be restored to their ancestral habitat outside the park. Tribes who have Treaty rights to hunt Yellowstone bison will also have increased hunting opportunities as more bison leave the park, allowing the Native people who have long maintained a deep cultural connection to buffalo the chance to harvest these important animals. 

GYC has long been advocating for a shift away from the ship-to-slaughter model of population management to one focused on Tribal partnership and cooperation and the conservation and restoration of our most ecologically and culturally significant wild bison herd. Namely, we would like to see additional emphasis on the rehoming of Yellowstone bison to Tribal and ancestral lands, and efforts made to restore bison to the broader Greater Yellowstone landscape. This recent decision is doing just that, and represents a monumental shift in Yellowstone bison management. We give major kudos to Yellowstone National Park and Superintendent Cam Sholly for making it clear that their bison management is heading in the right direction—one that relies less on slaughter and works hard to honor Treaty rights and access to bison for Tribes. 

The Greater Yellowstone Coalition is committed to supporting the ecological and cultural restoration of Yellowstone bison. In 2021, we raised $250,000 to fund urgently needed Yellowstone quarantine facility upgrades that allow nearly three times more bison to be saved and rehomed. With our partners, we’ve completed 57 bison coexistence fencing projects, which create more tolerance for bison on the landscape outside the park. Additionally, we are part of The Water and Buffalo Alliance, an innovative coalition of Tribal agencies, Tribal councils, and non-profit organizations working to advance conservation and protect the Indigenous way of life by restoring rivers, expanding Tribal buffalo herds, and supporting food sovereignty on the Wind River Indian Reservation and beyond. 

If you’d like to support our diverse array of bison conservation work, please consider giving a holiday gift to GYC. Right now your funds are eligible for a 2X match up to $25,000 from the Karis Foundation, meaning your gift goes TWICE as far.  

This shift from Yellowstone National Park also sets the stage for their new Yellowstone bison management planning process and soon-to-be-released Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). Earlier this year, Yellowstone began rethinking how it manages its iconic bison herds by beginning to update its Bison Management Plan. To kick off the revision process, Yellowstone officials released three preliminary plan alternatives and encouraged individuals and organizations to submit feedback and recommendations. GYC's recommendations focused on putting an end to the needless slaughter of bison, prioritizing Tribal engagement and cooperation, and supporting the ecological and cultural restoration of the species to lands outside Yellowstone National Park. Thousands of our advocates submitted comments in support!

Soon the park will release a Draft Bison Management Plan and attendant Draft Environmental Impact Statement for public comment and we’ll have another opportunity to help shape a new future for Yellowstone bison. Join our email list to stay up to date on bison news and opportunities to take action.

Have any questions on Yellowstone bison management or bison conservation in general? Reach out to me at sdrimal@greateryellowstone.org. Thank you for your constant support! 

—Shana Drimal, senior wildlife conservation associate

The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 49+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and mor