Are you aware of the fact that there is a new legal drama going on between Yellowstone park, National Park Service and the Montana state. Actually, it has everything to do with the new plan implemented by the National Park Service which increases the bison herd size by a considerable percentage, and according to the state officials, this can very well lead to some big problems down the line. All in all, they’re opposing the new plan that is implemented, and the state says that at least they should have reviewed it thoroughly.
How Did the Lawsuit Start?
Well, it started out just one year ago, to be precise on December 31, 2024. That was when Montana, Governor Greg Gianforte, and state agencies sued the National Park Service in federal court. And it could be that you don’t know the reasons yet, and the core of the issue, right?
So, as we got to know in this lawsuit, according to the state, Yellowstone hastily implemented its new bison management plan, but for that, they actually did not adequately consult Montana. And if you want to know what’s so big of an issue with that, see that clearly is a way to disregard longstanding agreements that had been in place for years.
Basically, it means taking a step back and going back to the year 2000. That was when the first-ever phase of the Interagency Bison Management Plan was introduced. It was the objective of this very plan to have a herd of around 3,000 bison, and that very well included things like controlling the transmission of brucellosis, and avoiding the occurrence of cattle and bison conflicts outside the park area.
What Changed in the New Plan?
Well, as the plan went on, eventually, the number of bison in the herd rose very significantly to over 3,000. But as per the study that came out recently, this has a little to do with bison, but it is the elk that are the main carriers of the spread of brucellosis to cattle. And just to give you an idea of the real situation, see, ever since 2000, there hasn’t been even a single case where a bison from Yellowstone park has passed or transmitted the disease to cattle. Not a single!
This was the reason why actually years of studies and over 27,000 public comments, were finally put together in a new plan for Yellowstone was approved by the park authorities last July 2024. According to this new plan in place, see, the herd size can fluctuate from 3,500 to 6,000 bison, with a typical average population of about 5,000. It also does away with vaccination requirements as they are no longer deemed necessary, at least not now.
But as you came to know about all this in the Yellowstone Bison Herd Lawsuit, it is actually the state of Montana that is opposing these changes. And you know what their argument they’re giving? Oh, well, they say that there wasn’t even time given to review all these big and extensive environmental reports, and claims that the process is in violation of the federal environmental review rules. As per the state officials, these changes made to the herd size can lead to some big issues down the line, which we are still unaware of or haven’t anticipated well enough.
Yellowstone’s Response
For now, yes, this case is still ongoing, and we have seen Yellowstone’s response on this as well. Like, according to the Yellowstone officials, the update was very much overdue. How exactly? They clearly say that over the past ten years, the herd has consistently been at around 5,000 bison, thus the new number just goes along with reality.
