MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, WY – On Thursday, June 6, the National Park Service (NPS) released its Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for managing bison in Yellowstone National Park.
According to the NPS, the purpose of the FEIS is to preserve an ecologically sustainable population of wild and migratory bison.
Based on new scientific information, the plan works closely with Tribal Nations to address issues related to brucellosis transmission, human safety, property damage and Tribal trust responsibilities, including ways to increase the transfer of bison to American Indian Tribes. The FEIS also considers management actions for bison populations on lands outside of the park in Montana.
The FEIS outlines several management options, with a preferred plan to manage within a population range of about 3,500 to 6,000 animals after calving with an emphasis on using the Bison Conservation Transfer Program to restore bison to Tribal lands, and public hunting outside the park to regulate numbers.
“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,” the NPS wrote on its website.
The FEIS outlines progress made over the past two decades by the Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP). In 1902, after years of market hunting and poaching, there were only about two dozen bison left in Yellowstone. Created in 2000, the IBMP established a cooperative effort between state and federal agencies and Tribal Nations to restore and manage bison in and around Yellowstone.
On Friday, June 7, the Notice of Availability of the FEIS will be published in the Federal Register, initiating a required 30-day wait-period.At the conclusion of the wait-period, the NPS will sign and publish a Record of Decision, detailing the selected action.
