Yellowstone National Park calls for more bison in new plan

Yellowstone National Park is proposing a major shift in its strategy for managing bison, one that could mean larger herds, expanded hunting opportunities beyond park borders, and more bison transfers to tribal governments.

The park prepared its new bison management plan in response to research regarding brucellosis, a bacterial disease that can cause cattle to abort their young. That research has concluded brucellosis transmission to livestock — a concern that has underpinned the park’s bison-management approach for more than two decades — is more likely attributable to elk than bison. 

The park, along with other federal, state and tribal agencies, has historically limited bison expansion outside park boundaries. For years, the animals have been subject to a capture-and-quarantine strategy, hazed back inside the park, shipped to slaughterhouses or shot by hunters, mostly tribal members.