Yellowstone’s bison are the most beloved and iconic population of this once wide-ranging species left in our country. They play critically important roles ecologically, economically, and culturally.

And yet the state of Montana continues to demand the National Park Service kill nearly half the population.

I didn’t expect to spend New Year’s Eve reading a 51-page lawsuit the state of Montana filed against Yellowstone National Park over its recently adopted bison management plan. Listening to fireworks while reading the state’s latest round of misguided bison-related fireworks seemed sadly appropriate. Like many, I couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of disappointment in Montana’s leaders for playing politics with the future of our national mammal.

Here’s the backstory.

In June, after several years of planning that included thorough input from Tribes, the public, conservation interests, and the state of Montana (27,150 comments submitted in all), Yellowstone finalized its new bison management plan. The new plan was long overdue. For the first time in a quarter-century, the Park Service now has a plan that reflects the latest science and stakeholder input (including from the state), as well as the many changes that have occurred since the last plan was adopted in 2000.

The new plan maintains a framework that addresses the state’s concerns over issues like brucellosis transmission to livestock, and it solidifies the progress made by the Interagency Bison Management Plan partners (which includes the state) through an ongoing collaborative process over the past two decades.

Contrary to what the state asserts, Montana has been at the table every step of the way and was even offered the opportunity by Park Service leadership to draft its own alternative to be considered in the planning process all the way back in April 2022. The state apparently declined that offer, but now claims it was not adequately consulted.

At the heart of the state’s lawsuit is the demand to reduce Yellowstone’s bison population to 3,000 animals. About 5,400 bison currently roam in the park. This demand comes despite the new plan setting forth a population range that is well within the 10-year average that has allowed Yellowstone managers to successfully maintain separation between bison and cattle, resulting in zero brucellosis transmissions and few conflicts with landowners north and west of the park.

To achieve the state’s goal of killing more than 2,000 bison, the park would be forced to aggressively haze and kill animals migrating toward the park boundary as well as in Yellowstone’s interior.

These actions could substantially decrease the genetic diversity of the herd and threaten the population’s long-term viability. Most Tribal and public hunting opportunities would also be eliminated. The public outrage these actions would prompt is almost unimaginable.  

Instead of wasting taxpayer dollars on a frivolous lawsuit, the state should commit to working in good faith with Yellowstone National Park and the many other interests at the table to successfully manage this world-renowned, cross-boundary wildlife population. Yellowstone’s new plan only directs what occurs within the park’s boundaries. When bison migrate out of those invisible walls and into Montana, a strong partnership is needed since the state has the authority to manage wildlife within its boundaries, as it does with elk, wolves, and all other species.

The reality is that Yellowstone and its bison are a significant part of what drives Montana’s tourism economy, not to mention the tremendous cultural and ecological value they hold for all Americans. This lawsuit and the stance of Montana’s political leaders is wildly out-of-touch with nearly 75 percent of Montanans who support efforts to conserve and restore bison.

We’ve come too far over the last 25 years to turn our backs on working together for the benefit of bison.

The Greater Yellowstone Coalition will stay at the table, and we hope the state’s leaders will decide to put politics and frivolous lawsuits aside and instead pull up a chair. An enormous thank you to all our supporters who advocated for bison time and again. We couldn’t do this important work without you!

—Scott Christensen, Executive Director (Bozeman, Montana)