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| Above, lounging bison and their calves in Yellowstone National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
A legal battle is brewing in the state of Montana over a plan by the National Park Service and Department of the Interior over a bison management plan.
Governor Greg Gianforte and the Montana departments of Livestock and Fish, Wildlife & Parks are plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
According to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle:
Citing a failure to cooperate with Montana state agencies and violation of federal laws, Gov. Greg Gianforte’s administration has sued to have Yellowstone National Park’s bison management plan nullified.
The 51-page lawsuit, filed on Dec. 31 in Billings District Court, names the National Park Service, Department of Interior and its leaders — including Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Cam Sholly — as defendants.
In addition to Gianforte, the Montana departments of Livestock and Fish, Wildlife & Parks are plaintiffs in the suit.
Yellowstone’s bison plan was finalized in July 2024 amid protests from the Gianforte administration, first outlined in a 17-page letter in 2023.
Under Gianforte’s leadership, the state has sought lower bison populations in the park to lessen the chance of the animals migrating into Montana in the winter.
The state wants the park bison population to number no more than 3,000 animals, a target agreed to in 2000 when the Interagency Bison Management Plan was adopted.
In the new plan, however, Yellowstone cited updated scientific findings to justify a population range between 3,500 to 6,000 animals after calving. That would put the population at an average of 5,000 head a year.
To read more, go here.
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