On July 21, a federal court in Montana denied the federal government's request to delay a lawsuit, filed by the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Council on Wildlife and Fish, that challenges the government’s failure to use the best available science in wildlife management of wild bison in and around Yellowstone National Park.
The federal government had asked the court to indefinitely pause our lawsuit allegedly so that the government could conduct analysis on a different issue. This was an obvious ploy to avoid our legal claims, which will ultimately require the government to change its management approach to wild Yellowstone bison.
This court decision is a great step in the right direction — we need to base the management of wild bison — our National Mammal — on sound science, not fear and disproven assumptions.
Tens of millions of wild bison once roamed across western North America. Today, wild bison occupy less than one percent of their former range. Despite their small population, the federal government rounds up and slaughters wild roaming bison every year that try to migrate outside Yellowstone National Park.
These controversial and aggressive management actions — known as "capture and slaughter" — were designed decades ago because of a fear that wild bison could transmit a disease called brucellosis to domestic cattle that might be grazing outside the National Park. Back in the 1990s, little was known regarding brucellosis transmission to cattle so the original plan was to keep wild bison separate from cattle, and slaughter bison that tested positive for brucellosis antibodies.
Now, after over 20 years of operating under these assumptions, things have changed. The National Academies of Science, Medicine, and Engineering issued an exhaustive report on brucellosis in the Yellowstone region. Contrary to the original assumptions, the National Academies found that over the past 20 years, wild elk — not wild bison — transmitted brucellosis to livestock 27 times. Wild bison were not responsible for a single transmission. Additionally, the report finds that after over 20 years of implementing "capture and slaughter," there has been no change in the percentage of Yellowstone bison that test positive for brucellosis antibodies. Thus, "capture and slaughter" of wild bison has proven to be ineffective at its sole purpose: reducing brucellosis.
In 2024, the federal government prepared and approved a new management plan for wild bison. Shockingly, the government completely ignored the National Academies' recommendations to switch management focus from wild bison to wild elk for brucellosis management. Not a single alternative in the new plan’s environmental analysis document addresses the true source of brucellosis infections — elk. And none of the tools in the original plan — such as "capture and slaughter" — have been removed, despite their demonstrated ineffectiveness.
There is no scientific dispute here, Yellowstone’s bison management plan is based on disproven assumptions that thousands of bison need to be slaughtered to stop brucellosis infections in cattle. This is no longer accepted science and the government needs to change its management practices and base its decisions on the best available science.
And so, despite this road bump, our lawsuit will continue despite the Feds attempt to dodge it. We will not stop fighting for wild free-roaming Yellowstone bison.
Mike Garrity is a fifth generation Montana and the executive director of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies.
