Yellowstone bison coexistence program celebrates ten years of reducing conflicts

If you’ve ever been to Yellowstone before, you likely remember your first bison encounter. The fact that bison still roam areas of the Yellowstone region is miraculous and something to be cherished and protected.

For years, we and our conservation partners have been working towards increasing tolerance for wild bison and managing them as wildlife in Montana outside Yellowstone National Park. Recently, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition and our partners celebrated ten years of collaboration with Yellowstone-area landowners and agencies on projects that reduce conflicts with bison.

The Yellowstone Bison Coexistence Program began in 2011 as a collaborative effort between the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Defenders of Wildlife, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Sierra Club in collaboration with Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks with the goal of helping landowners coexist with wild bison on the landscape outside Yellowstone National Park.

Specifically, the program provides financial and technical assistance to build bison exclusion fences on private property to help prevent property damage by roaming bison. 

A free-roaming bison next to a landowner’s fence built using the Yellowstone Bison Coexistence Program.

Through this program, participating landowners have received technical assistance and a fifty percent reimbursement – up to $1,000 – to construct fencing to keep bison out of areas such as gardens, landscaping, yards, playgrounds, or livestock pastures, where they can potentially cause damage or come into conflict with people, pets, or livestock.  

“The bison fencing program has been great for us since we fenced our trees a few years ago. It has allowed us to cultivate several deciduous trees over the years that have been great for birds and viewing a variety of migratory species. Overall, wildlife have been enjoying our little sanctuary and we love it. We absolutely appreciate the opportunity and are fully supportive of the program.”  

- Melissa Alder, West Yellowstone, Montana

A bison fence around a trio of young trees on a landowner’s property. The orange sign reads “Buffalo Safe Zone.”

The program recently hit a ten-year milestone, completing its 55th fencing project and contributing over $50,000 in financial assistance and materials to participants. Multiple projects are currently in the planning stages for spring of 2022 and we are increasing the reimbursement cap to $1500 to keep up with rising costs and demand. Prior to this effort, landowners did not have access to a program to offset the costs of installing fences to protect sensitive areas of their properties from roaming bison.

The Greater Yellowstone Coalition is dedicated to seeing Yellowstone bison restored to their ancestral habitat by engaging a wide range of people who care about the region. As bison return to portions of their historic range, simple solutions like putting up a fence can help avoid unnecessary conflicts and go a long way in helping communities accept these animals’ presence on the landscape. A small investment upfront can ensure successful coexistence with bison and peace of mind for landowners for years to come.

You can learn more about the Greater Yellowstone Coalition’s bison conservation efforts on our website. We can’t do this work without you, our supporters. If you’d like to make a gift toward keeping the lands, waters, and wildlife of Greater Yellowstone protected, we’d be forever grateful. Thank you!

— Shana Drimal, 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 more.