The National Park Service has announced a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for a Bison Management Plan at Yellowstone National Park. This plan allows the Park Service to evaluate bison management based on new scientific information and changed circumstances, explore ways to reduce bison being sent to slaughter, and to continue working closely with Tribal Nations and agency partners in management.
The purpose of the EIS is to preserve an ecologically sustainable population of wild, wide-ranging bison while continuing to work with other agencies to address issues related to brucellosis transmission, human safety, and property damage. The preliminary EIS alternatives would manage bison with varying population ranges and management activities.
While the EIS will also consider the bison management actions likely to occur on lands outside the park in Montana, it acknowledges the Park Service does not have jurisdiction or control over actions such as hunting or tolerance for bison beyond the park boundary.
