Yellowstone Bison Contemporary Plan Allows for Ecological and Cultural Values

"Yellowstone bison have long deserved a plan that allows for a greater population and access to seasonal habitats within and outside of the park. Now they have it."

Conservation groups offered qualified praise for the new Yellowstone Bison Management Plan after the signing of a final record of decision by the National Park Service today. Based on current science and cultural values, the plan includes a projected population range between 3,500 and 6,000 bison. Those bison will have the opportunity to expand into National Forest lands outside of the park and be made available to benefit Native Nations.

"The buffalo is essential to sustaining the health of Indian people and for our cultural traditions," said Robert Magnan, director of the Fort Peck Fish and Game Department. "This final plan means the Fort Peck Tribes and the transfer program partners can work to get even more Yellowstone buffalo to the tribes, so many Indian communities can welcome our family member back to our lands."

The non-government organizations of the Montana Bison Working Group applaud Yellowstone National Park for developing a plan that supports bison migration outside of Yellowstone's boundaries and into tolerance zones. The plan also prioritizes the restoration of bison to tribal lands via the Bison Conservation Transfer Program (BCTP) and for treaty hunts outside Yellowstone, providing tribes with access to traditional resources.

"Yellowstone bison have long deserved a plan that allows for a greater population and access to seasonal habitats within and outside of the park. Now they have it," said Chamois Andersen, senior field representative for Defenders of Wildlife. "This science-based plan also allows for an increased focus on Yellowstone bison, valued for their high genetics, to be used for broader species restoration, benefiting grasslands and for the repatriation of buffalo to tribes across the nation. The park went to great lengths to unite partners and the public to make a difference for the American bison, our national mammal."

Between the early 1800s and 1880s, mass slaughter pushed bison numbers in the U.S. down from more than 30 million to fewer than 1,000. Plains bison, also referred to as buffalo, are native to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and their recovery to tribal lands is crucial to overall species recovery. Yellowstone National Park is a leader in bison conservation, and a supporter of "buffalo" repatriation to Native Nations. Since 2019, more than 400 bison have been transferred to 26 tribes across 12 states thanks to the Yellowstone BCTP.

"Alternative 2," as the chosen plan has been known to conservationists, went through two years of public comment. The Montana Bison Working Group, composed of non-government organizations and Tribal partners, provided comments and held public meetings advocating for a science-based population range to support the ecological and cultural restoration of animals on the landscape outside of Yellowstone where they are permitted, and on Tribal lands across the country. Through the BCTP, disease-free bison of high genetic, ecological, and cultural importance can be identified and transferred to Tribal lands to start new or augment existing herds.

The Montana Bison Working Group includes the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Defenders of Wildlife, National Parks Conservation Service, Park County Environmental Council, World Wildlife Fund and the Sierra Club.

 "Yellowstone bison management is one of the most complex issues in the region," said Greater Yellowstone Coalition Senior Wildlife Associate Shana Drimal. "Yellowstone National Park has thoughtfully crafted a contemporary science-driven plan that balances multiple, often competing needs for this population including ensuring the long-term genetic and ecological health of the population, supporting bison restoration on the broader Greater Yellowstone landscape where they are allowed, prioritizing Tribal access to bison through improved treaty hunting and rehoming bison to Tribal lands, and the ongoing need for population, disease, and conflict management. And perhaps most importantly, it includes a process for adaptive management, as ecological and social conditions continue to shift and evolve into the future."

"The final plan memorializes the progress made by the park, Tribal, state and conservation partners over the years for Yellowstone bison," said National Parks Conservation Association's Senior Yellowstone Program Manager Michelle Uberuaga. "And, although this is an important step in the right direction, there is still a lot of work to do in order to ensure that America's national mammal is managed like other valued wildlife, which includes protecting seasonal migration in and out of the park."

"This plan is an improvement by allowing hundreds more buffalo in Yellowstone National Park and continuing the transfer of buffalo to Tribal nations, while addressing the real challenges of having our national mammal in the Gardiner Basin," said Nick Gevock, campaign organizer with Sierra Club. "While the plan isn't perfect, it does move us forward in efforts to restore our national mammal to appropriate plains habitats and manage this incredible wildlife species in and around the world's first national park."