Bison Management

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2 minutes, 6 seconds

The protection and recovery of bison in Yellowstone is one of the great triumphs of American conservation. This video explains why Yellowstone bison are managed.

Learn more about bison management.

 
 

Success & Controversy

The protection and recovery of bison in Yellowstone is one of the great triumphs of American conservation. In 1902, after years of market hunting and poaching, there were only about two dozen bison left in Yellowstone. Over the next 100+ years, park employees worked to bring this species back from the brink of extinction. We succeeded, and now face the challenge of helping to manage a healthy population of bison that sometimes roams beyond park borders onto private land and land managed by other agencies, where there is less tolerance for them.

A court-mediated settlement reached in 2000 created the Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP), which established a cooperative effort to manage bison in and around Yellowstone. Eight groups, including state and federal agencies and Tribal Nations, play a role in making decisions about Yellowstone bison. Because Montana law limits the areas bison can move outside the park, and because bison outside the park are valued by state and Tribal hunters and others, managing bison is a balancing act between having enough bison to support a healthy population and some migrations out of the park, but not too large a population that could lead to mass migrations and cause brucellosis transmission to livestock, harm people, or damage private property. Currently, the park’s bison population is managed through three main ways: (1) Tribal hunts and state hunts outside Yellowstone’s boundary; (2) capture and transfer to Tribes for shipment to slaughter; and (3) capture for brucellosis testing and transfer to Tribes to start their own bison herds.

Beginning in 2018, the park, in coordination with several federal and state partners and Tribal Nations, started the Bison Conservation Transfer Program to identify migrating bison that do not have brucellosis and transfer them to new areas as an alternative to sending them to slaughter. Since 2019, over 400 bison have been transferred to 26 other Tribes across 12 states, which has been the largest transfer of Yellowstone bison among Native American Tribes in history.

The NPS initiated a new Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process to prepare a Bison Management Plan to address NPS management actions within the park boundary that will incorporate new information and changed circumstances since the 2000 plan was approved. The following cooperating agencies will provide input during the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process: Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, InterTribal Buffalo Council (ITBC), Nez Perce Tribe, State of Montana - Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks and Department of Livestock, United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and United States Forest Service - Custer Gallatin National Forest. The final bison EIS is expected to be released in 2024.

 
a herd of bison and bison calves walking through a grassy field
A nursery group of bison cows and calves makes its way through Lamar Valley. Due to high rates of survival and reproduction, the bison population increases by 10% to 17% every year: 10 times faster than the human population grows worldwide.

NPS / Neal Herbert

 

Our Goals

Our bison management goals include: 1) preserve a viable population of wild, migratory bison; 2) work with Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP) partners to maintain human safety and a low risk of brucellosis transmission to cattle, and minimize property damage; and 3) honor the federal Indian trust responsibility.

We work to maintain a viable, wild, migratory population of our national mammal.

Yellowstone provides one of the few places where bison live much like their ancestors did: unfenced, and unprotected from harsh winters, drought, or predation. Yellowstone bison also provide a physical link to those ancestors. They were declared our national mammal in 2016 because they’re a symbol of wild America, an important part of our heritage, and a key player in an ecosystem that’s much larger than a national park.

We want to send Yellowstone bison to other conservation areas instead of slaughter.

In coordination with APHIS and their leased facility outside the park, the Bison Conservation Transfer Program supports the transfer of about 100 animals per year to Tribes as an alternative to slaughter. Recent scientific findings suggest that the time some animals spend in the program can be significantly reduced, which could increase the number of bison returned to Tribes each year.

We want to support hunting opportunities outside the park.

Right now, most hunting occurs adjacent to the park boundary, which prohibits bison from moving further into areas where they are tolerated. Yellowstone National Park wants to work with state partners and Tribal Nations to explore ways to safely improve hunting outside the park. Improving hunts would further reduce the number of animals sent to slaughter and help treat bison like other wildlife, such as elk.

 

Bison Conservation Transfer Program

Listen to the story of the first live bison transfer to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in northeastern Montana in 2019:

 
 

Relocating Bison

During Aug. 19-23, 2019, Yellowstone moved 55 bison to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in northeastern Montana. It was the first direct relocation of bison to a new home as an alternative to slaughter and was the culmination of eight years of compromise between the federal government, state of Montana, and Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes. Those bison had been held in a quarantine facility in the park for 17 months and underwent rigorous testing to show they did not have a disease called brucellosis.

Up until 2020, rehoming bison has not been possible because of brucellosis. Some Yellowstone bison are infected with this disease, which affects bison, elk, and domestic cows by reducing production in livestock and marginally affecting bison health. To help stop the spread, Montana law prohibits the live transfer of Yellowstone bison to new areas unless they are first certified as brucellosis-free. Brucellosis-causing bacteria evade the immune system in early stages, such that an infected bison may not test positive for the first several months or longer after contracting the disease. Proving a bison does not have brucellosis takes much more than testing them one time when animals are rounded up. It takes placing them in fenced quarantine pastures with similarly aged animals and repeatedly testing them for one to three years. From 2005-2012, APHIS developed and verified procedures for identifying Yellowstone bison that don't have brucellosis. Afterward, the park, Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, state of Montana, and APHIS agreed on how to implement the procedures.

 
several bison in a holding pen as they are sorted for the Bison Conservation Transfer Program
Bison in holding pens to prepare for transfer to Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

NPS / Jacob W. Frank

As bison migrate north out of the park, some are captured and entered in the Bison Conservation Transfer Program. Animals are then moved between facilities to undergo various testing phases. The first two testing phases are completed in Yellowstone quarantine facilities (Stephens Creek) or on private lands leased by APHIS near the northern park boundary. APHIS and Montana animal health officials certify bison as brucellosis-free at the completion of Phase 2, allowing their transfer across Montana to the Fort Peck Reservation, where bison complete Phase 3. Afterward, the Fort Peck Tribes transfer some bison to the InterTribal Buffalo Council, who distribute them to other Tribes across North America.

The Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes started their Yellowstone herd by accepting bison that completed the 2005-2012 pilot study. The number of bison transferred each year includes:

2019: 93 bison
2020: 11 bison
2021: 50 bison
2022: 28 bison
2023: 116 bison
2024: 116 bison


The Bison Conservation Transfer program has led to the largest transfer of Yellowstone bison among Native American Tribes in history.


Expanding the Bison Conservation Transfer Program

Currently, there is not enough space for all the bison that qualify for the program. The first two phases of testing require that animals are held within state- and federal-approved quarantine facilities. There are currently two such facilities; one that is inside Yellowstone National Park and the other on private land leased by APHIS near the northern park boundary.

 
a person bowing their head in prayer at a podium in front of Tribal and U.S. flags at a bison facility
Opening prayer by Leroy Stewart, Bison Project Director, Crow Nation, at the Bison Conservation Transfer Facility Expansion Commemoration in 2023.

NPS / Jacob W. Frank

In fall 2022, Yellowstone increased the 80-animal capacity of the Bison Conservation Transfer Program facility in the park to 200 animals. These upgrades, done in partnership with Yellowstone Forever and the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, coupled with continued coordination with APHIS (the APHIS-leased facility has a capacity of 60 animals) will result in the transfer of about 100 animals per year to Tribes as an alternative to slaughter.

Conserving large herds is one of the greatest wildlife restoration challenges of our generation. Yellowstone bison remain the model of restoring large, wild herds. There is not another bison population who, by their sheer numbers, restore lost ecosystem processes across large landscapes. The large herds provide unparalleled reconnections of people to the long-lost herds that once roamed the continent, but the benefits of large numbers come with the challenge of managing large numbers. The Bison Conservation Transfer Program cannot solve the dilemma of needing to remove large numbers of bison from the population each year, but it may make conserving large herds more doable.

Yellowstone bison have some of the most valuable genetics for long-term conservation of the species and can only be augmented into other herds through the Bison Conservation Transfer Program. Bison completing the program are transferred to Native American Tribes to help restore their lost cultures and ways of life. Yellowstone bison may mean more to them than most other people. Entire cultures are intertwined with bison and the great herds that once roamed North America.

 

"I longed for that time when Tatanka Sicun, Buffalo Spirit as ancestor, mingled with mine...
... then yesterday it came...
... it came in the form of trucks and trailers carrying sacred beings into the realm of our higher plains..."
-Lois Red Elk, member of Fort Peck Sioux, about the 2019 bison transfer


Many Tribes see Yellowstone bison as uniquely linked to their ancestral descendants because they were never completely extirpated from the park. To many Tribal members, returning bison to Tribal lands goes well beyond finding an alternative to slaughter. It is about restoring a part of themselves that is missing.

Negotiating more tolerance for bison outside Yellowstone is going to take a long time. In fact, we may never find enough tolerance outside the park to eliminate the need for some population control. In the interim, identifying brucellosis-free bison and moving them to new homes may be part of the solution to giving bison more room to roam. It is the beginning of returning Yellowstone bison to the lands where they once roamed.

 
A bison running in a field
Release of 55 Yellowstone bison on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in 2019.

NPS / Jacob W. Frank


Questions & Answers

 

Management

Five federal/state agencies and three Tribal entities make decisions about Yellowstone bison in a cooperative effort called the Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP). These include the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes, the InterTribal Buffalo Council, Montana Department of Livestock, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, the National Park Service (Yellowstone National Park), the Nez Perce Tribe, and the U.S. Forest Service (Custer-Gallatin National Forest).

In the summer of 2023, park biologists counted 4,830 bison.

  • Bison are killed because they do not have enough room to roam. Yellowstone encompasses a limited amount of habitat. Montana allows very limited numbers of bison in small areas adjacent to the park due to fears they might transmit brucellosis to cattle and out of concerns about competition with cattle for grass, human safety, and property damage.

  • Bison are infected with the disease brucellosis which prohibits transferring them alive to new places, unless they are first certified disease-free. Certification involves a multi-year process including holding animals in fenced pastures near the park boundary and only about 30% of animals qualify for the program.

  • Yellowstone bison reproduce and survive at relatively high rates compared to many other large, wild, mammal species. The bison population currently increases by 10% to 17% per year.

  • Currently, predation by bears and wolves has little effect in reducing the bison numbers. Bison are massive animals that defend themselves as a group, making them more difficult to attack than animals such as elk.

  • By itself, hunting outside the park has not been effective at limiting bison numbers because concentrated hunting pressure along the park boundary often causes bison to return to the security of the national park where hunting is prohibited.

The 2022/2023 winter saw the largest and earliest migration of bison ever recorded, including about 4,000 bison migrating north of Mammoth Hot Springs into the state of Montana. At least 1,173 bison were removed during the 2022/2023 winter, including 1,085+ bison harvested outside the park in Montana and 88 bison captured at the Stephens Creek facility and sent to slaughter. Additionally, Yellowstone placed 282 bison into the Bison Conservation Transfer Program.

The NPS no longer sets a bison removal target. As the population has increased over time, IBMP partners continue to meet the goals of preserving a wild population while minimizing the chance that bison transmit brucellosis to livestock. If the migration occurs, the NPS may capture bison to: 1) enter up to 100 new animals into the Bison Conservation Transfer Program during the 2023/2024 winter; or 2) if necessary, lower the number of bison exiting the park to reduce conflicts. Bison that do not qualify for live transfer may be transferred to American Indian Tribes for slaughter and distribution of meat and hides to their members.

Yes. Yellowstone’s bison population has grown steadily over the last 50+ years: from 500 animals in 1970 to nearly 5,000 in 2023. Yellowstone bison represent a unique source of genetic diversity.

Yellowstone conducted a 10-year study of bison to better understand bison impacts on the park ecosystem. Learn more about our findings, in addition to the information below, in our grazing issue of Yellowstone Science.


Bison do not just aimlessly eat grass.

We discovered that bison change the way spring happens across Yellowstone’s vast grasslands. Bison return to graze the same areas repeatedly at such intensity that it turns back the clock on forage green-up, hitting reset on springtime. This behavior keeps plants growing, although the plants never appear more than a few inches tall. Short, young plants provide the best foods for migrating animals. Evidence over the last decade supports the notion that migrating ungulates surf the green wave, or the progression of plants emerging in spring from river valleys to mountaintops. Many mule deer and elk, for example, have been shown to be in sync with spring green-up, which lets them eat high quality foods as they migrate. However, bison and their intense grazing lets them fall behind the wave of spring because they create grazing lawns as an alternative. That finding sets bison apart from other North American ungulates. Bison are not just moving to find the best food; they are creating the best food by how they move. Without several thousands of bison moving freely on the landscape in sync, the springtime season of plant growth would be shorter, the land would not be as green, and plants would not be as nutritious.

Our research suggests that Yellowstone benefits from the large roaming bison herds. Soils are nutrient-rich, uncompacted, and have the necessary biological, chemical, and physical properties to support the ecosystem. Grazing increases the rates that nutrients are recycled back to plants and also preserves soil moisture. Nutrients and water are the two ingredients that plants need to grow. As a result, grazing stimulates plants to regrow, making plants more productive than they would be if bison weren’t grazing the park. More plant matter can mean more bison and other herbivores, more predators relying on the herbivores for food, and an overall healthier ecosystem.

View more bison research in Yellowstone.

No: that designation did not provide any special protection to bison. Read more about the National Bison Legacy Act.

Bison migrate to lower elevations where food is more available (less snow) just like bighorn sheep, elk, mule deer, pronghorn, and many other animals. They return to the park’s higher elevation grasslands to feed during summer.

Bison are not allowed to move freely outside Yellowstone due to fears they might transmit brucellosis to cattle, and out of concerns about competition with cattle for grass, human safety, and property damage. Elk are also infected with brucellosis, but their movements outside the park are not restricted. State governments control the management of wildlife outside Yellowstone (unless a species is federally listed as threatened or endangered).

Outside Yellowstone, states manage wildlife and Yellowstone cannot force them to tolerate more migrating bison.

Yellowstone isn't big enough to manage a migratory species like bison on its own. Bison conservation is a shared responsibility that crosses many political boundaries. Withdrawing from the IBMP would make it more difficult to collaborate with the land management agencies and Tribes that share an interest in what happens to bison when they leave the park. Additionally, Yellowstone’s superintendent is not the signatory of the original IBMP. The agreement was signed and approved by the Secretary of the Interior, who would need to make any decision about withdrawing.

On behalf of the IBMP, bison are captured near the north boundary of Yellowstone as they migrate out of the park. Fences guide them into enclosures, so they wander in on their own or are sometimes guided in by riders on horseback.

We transfer captured bison to Tribes who transport them to slaughterhouses for processing.

Tribal Nations distribute the bison meat and hides to their members.

No: we receive no payment for bison shipped from our capture facility.

No. The safety of people and animals is our top priority at Stephens Creek. The Humane Society has evaluated the operation twice, and each time we've adopted their recommendations. During 2020, we received expert training and worked to improve low-stress handling of bison during handling and processing. Two old photos are often used to falsely depict our handling practices at Stephens Creek. One shows a bison being held with a nose ring during brucellosis testing, a practice we haven’t used in many years (we now have a hydraulic chute that holds the animals relatively still during testing). The second shows a bison being carried by a front-end loader: a photo that was taken outside the park, most likely after a bison was shot by a hunter or hit by a car. Adult bison can be very large and heavy and often times require heavy equipment to move carcasses from vehicle accident scenes.

No. Yellowstone’s bison population has grown steadily over the last 50+ years: from 500 animals in 1970 to nearly 5,000 in 2023. Each year, the bison population in the park increases by 10%-17%. Along with elk, bison are the most numerous large mammals in Yellowstone, and periodic culling will not alter that fact. The sizes of most wild ungulate populations in North America are limited by hunting and/or captures and removals.

We are legally obligated to follow the directives of the IBMP. Each member of the IBMP has a different perspective on the conservation of wild bison, so conflict resolution is an integral part of the management strategy. We would like to reduce the shipment of bison to slaughter and have implemented the Bison Conservation Transfer Program to reduce numbers slaughtered.

 

Brucellosis

  • Brucellosis is a bacterial disease that can induce abortions or stillbirths in infected animals but does not kill them. For ranchers, brucellosis has an economic impact because it affects the reproductive rate and marketability of their animals.
  • Up to 60% of Yellowstone bison test positive for exposure to brucellosis (depending on age and sex).
  • Brucellosis has been eradicated in cattle herds across most of the United States. Bison and elk in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem persist as one of the last reservoirs of infection.
  • Brucellosis was introduced to Yellowstone bison and elk by domestic cattle in the early 1900s.

Yes. People both understate and overstate the risk of brucellosis transmission. Transmission of brucellosis from bison to livestock is possible because in late winter, bison migrate to low elevation areas outside the park where livestock are concentrated. At this time, bison are late in their pregnancy: the most probable time for infected animals to abort fetuses that might be found by other animals. The fact that there's never been a documented transmission of brucellosis from Yellowstone bison to cattle does not mean it couldn't happen. Rather, it’s a testament to the diligent management efforts put forth by the state of Montana and the National Park Service to prevent commingling of bison and cattle during the time period when transmission is most likely.

Yes. Over the last two decades, more than 20 livestock operators in the three states surrounding Yellowstone discovered brucellosis in their animals. In each case, wild elk transmitted the disease.

They do, but there is no vaccine that is 100% effective at reducing abortions due to brucellosis or eliminating the potential of infection from wildlife.

The NPS initiated the Bison Conservation Transfer Program to identify bison that don't have brucellosis and transfer them to new areas as an alternative to sending them to slaughter. Since 2019, over 400 bison have been transferred to 26 Tribes across 12 states. Continued coordination with APHIS will result in transferring about 100 animals per year to Tribes as an alternative to slaughter.

  • Vaccinating wild bison against brucellosis with existing vaccines would not substantially suppress the disease and could have unintended, adverse effects on the bison population in Yellowstone.
  • There is no easily distributed, highly effective vaccine: current vaccines would only create a 10% to 15% reduction in infection, and immune protection is short-lived.
  • Even if we reduced the prevalence of brucellosis in bison, they could be re-infected by elk.
  • For more details, read the final Environmental Impact Statement that evaluated the potential of remote vaccination of bison.
 

Alternatives

In the history of North America, only humans, disease, predation, and starvation have successfully controlled bison numbers. Hunting outside the park is the preferred method for controlling the population today, but bison need greater access to land to disperse beyond our boundaries and pioneer new areas. Currently, the area where bison can be hunted is very small, and bison often respond to the hunting pressure by returning to the security of the national park (where hunting is prohibited). In addition, the NPS initiated the Bison Conservation Transfer Program to identify bison that don't have brucellosis and transfer them to new areas as an alternative to sending them to slaughter. Since 2019, over 400 bison have been transferred to 26 Tribes across 12 states. Continued coordination with APHIS will result in transferring about 100 animals per year to Tribes as an alternative to slaughter.

Right now, it’s against state and federal laws to move wild bison exposed to brucellosis anywhere except to meat processing and research facilities. The NPS has initiated the Bison Conservation Transfer Program to identify bison that do not have brucellosis and transfer them to new areas as an alternative to sending them to slaughter.

Some captured bison that test negative for brucellosis exposure are moved into double-fenced pastures and held until they all test negative for two to three consecutive months. Any animals that convert to testing positive are removed and shipped to slaughter. The remainder of the bison then undergo additional testing for brucellosis with timelines and criteria that vary by age and sex. At the end of this testing protocol, APHIS and state of Montana animal health officials certify the bison as brucellosis-free. This certification allows their transfer across the state of Montana to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Bison complete one year of assurance testing at the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, after which the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes transfer some bison to the InterTribal Buffalo Council who distribute them to member Tribes throughout North America.

This program reduces the need for capture/slaughter operations and promotes the restoration of plains bison to suitable areas of the country.

To date, hunting outside the park has been ineffective at limiting bison numbers. The area where bison can be hunted is very small, and bison often respond to concentrated hunting pressure along the park boundary by returning to the security of the national park where hunting is prohibited. For hunting to become more effective, bison need greater access to public lands outside the park, like wild elk and other animals, so they can disperse beyond our boundaries and pioneer new areas.

Federal law (National Park Protection Act, 1894) prohibits hunting in Yellowstone. Because of this prohibition, Yellowstone offers some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities in the world. This prohibition also supports our goal to manage the park so that human activities have as little effect on natural processes as possible. Allowing hunting in Yellowstone would drastically affect the behavior of animals and change the experience for people who come to watch them.

No fertility control methods that are affordable, easily delivered, highly effective, and reversible are currently available for delivery to wild bison spread across a vast landscape. Fertility control could have unintended, adverse effects on the bison population in Yellowstone.

 

More Information

 
a bison calf nursing during an early morning
History of Bison Management

Learn about the history of bison management in Yellowstone.

A bull bison grazing in tall grass on the Blacktail Deer Plateau.
Bison Ecology

Learn more about North America's largest land-dwelling mammal.

two park rangers inspecting the wing of a small bird
Science Publications & Reports

View science publications and reports created by Yellowstone's Center for Resources on a variety of park topics.

 

Bison Management News

 
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    Last updated: March 15, 2024

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