Fort Peck Tribes, Conservation Groups Move to Defend Yellowstone Bison Plan in Court

The Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, alongside conservation groups, today filed a motion to join a lawsuit to defend Yellowstone National Park’s science-based bison management plan. The intervenors argue that a lawsuit filed by the state of Montana in December is a misguided effort to overturn the modern and realistic plan, and would impede the transfer of disease-free bison to Tribes seeking to reestablish conservation herds. Adopted in 2024, the plan increases the number of bison allowed in the park and prioritizes the restoration of bison on tribal lands. Intervenors note that the plan strikes a balance between competing interests.

“In Park County we live and work in close proximity to Yellowstone’s bison,” said Karrie Kahle, conservation director for Park County Environmental Council. “We have an intimate understanding of the benefits and conflicts of bison on the landscape. It is because of this relationship we chose to intervene in Montana’s lawsuit. We recognize the importance of working in partnership with the National Park Service, as they have always done with our local community and the state. It is for that reason we support their Bison Management Plan, which strikes a fair balance for all involved.”

Yellowstone’s final plan allows for an average of about 5,000 bison, a moderate and science-based alternative identified by the National Park Service. The plan also recognizes the role of bison in maintaining healthy ecosystems, provides for increased tribal hunting opportunities outside of the park to honor treaty rights, enhances tools to provide meat and hides to Tribes, and creates more opportunities for Tribes to restore brucellosis-free bison to tribal lands. To date, there have been zero documented cases of the transmission of brucellosis from bison to cattle.

“Yellowstone bison are a significant economic driver for Yellowstone’s gateway communities and hold tremendous cultural and ecological value for all Americans,” said Greater Yellowstone Coalition Executive Director Scott Christensen. “Instead of wasting taxpayer dollars on a lawsuit, the state of Montana should commit to working in good faith with Yellowstone National Park and the many varied interests at the table to successfully conserve and manage our national mammal.”

Through its suit, Montana hopes to reinstate outdated policies that no longer reflect the best available science. The state seeks to decrease the park’s bison population despite the new plan setting a population range that is well within the 10-year average that has allowed Yellowstone managers to maintain separation between bison and cattle. If successful, Montana’s suit would set back bison conservation efforts by cutting the bison herd by nearly half, including by shipping them to slaughter, and reducing the transfer of disease-free bison to Tribes.

“Montana’s suit challenging the National Park Service’s Yellowstone bison plan is akin to standing in the path of our national mammal’s cultural restoration to Indigenous communities,” said Chamois Andersen, senior field representative for Defenders of Wildlife. “The Bison Conservation Transfer Program is working well, bringing these animals back to grasslands and tribes where they belong across the country. A large, healthy bison population benefits the park ecosystem and visitor experience; the advancement of the transfer program; and the Indigenous communities working to gain back their buffalo.”

Yellowstone bison are a link to the millions of Plains bison that once supported the cultural, spiritual, and nutritional practices of countless Indigenous communities for millennia. The Tribes’ access to Yellowstone bison is not only paramount for cultural reasons, but a protected treaty right that the state is at risk of impeding. The Fort Peck Tribes, which operate the only approved assurance testing facility capable of receiving bison cleared from quarantine in Yellowstone, have been integral partners with the National Park Service working to restore bison through the Bison Conservation Transfer Program, which has transferred more than 400 brucellosis-free bison to 26 Tribes.

“Montanans understand that bison belong on the land. Yellowstone bison are among the iconic wildlife that draw visitors to Montana’s national parks and public lands, which contribute to our state’s robust $5.4 billion tourist economy,” said Michelle Uberuaga, Greater Yellowstone senior program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association. “The State of Montana seeks to upend decades of work and collaboration reached by the Park Service, Tribes, state and federal managers, and gateway communities. The National Parks Conservation Association stands with our national mammal against the attack from Montana’s Governor and supports the slow and steady progress solidified by the final Yellowstone bison management plan.”

The intervenors noted that Montana has been at the table every step of the way in the development of Yellowstone’s plan. The state was even offered the opportunity by National Park Service leadership to draft its own alternative to be considered in the planning process in April 2022. The state declined that offer but now claims it was not adequately consulted.

“The Montana governor’s lawsuit is a waste of time and taxpayer money,” said Mary Cochenour, senior attorney with Earthjustice’s Northern Rockies Office. “Montana was given ample opportunity to engage in the development of Yellowstone’s bison management plan and chose to sit on the sidelines. To claim foul now that the plan has been finalized should frustrate both Montanans and the millions of people who visit from around the world for a chance to see Yellowstone’s beloved bison. This is just the latest example in Montana’s war on the wildlife that makes this state special.”

Earthjustice represents the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, National Parks Conservation Association, Defenders of Wildlife, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, and Park County Environmental Council in the intervention.