This is the most important action you can take right now! But after that, you can find the rest of our current action alerts here.
Yellowstone recently gave a Notice of Intent to Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for their 2024 Bison Management Plan. They stated their reason for doing this is in response to two lawsuits, one filed by Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, the other was filed by the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and the Council on Wildlife and Fish. Obviously, those lawsuits were filed for very different reasons. In addition to the lawsuits, Yellowstone stated that recent mild winters have lessened the drive for the buffalo to migrate into Montana, and therefore have hampered the park’s ability to damage the herds.
In this Notice of Intent to Prepare an SEIS, no alternatives are presented. While we expect they are looking for more ways to kill more buffalo, for our comments, it’s like we have a blank slate. So, we are going to revisit our 2022 comments from the Scoping Phase of Yellowstone’s current Bison Management Plan.
TAKE ACTION!
Comments are being accepted through May 29, 2026. We have provided talking points to aid you, but please understand it is critical that you put things in your own words. You should also add any experiences you feel are important for the park to consider. If you are familiar with any studies or analysis that may further support your comments, please include them.
Submit comments here https://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?documentID=150904. Comments can also be submitted by mail to the address listed on the Notice of Intent.
Talking Points:
- Wild migratory buffalo do not need management by human interference – let their “managers” be themselves, the wolves, the grizzlies, and the weather.
- The NPS should rely on natural selection and bison dispersal as the primary tools to regulate bison numbers. Yellowstone’s lead bison biologist has publicly stated that the park alone can sustain 10,000 to 11,000 buffalo.
- Trapping for shipments to slaughter and quarantine should immediately cease.
- Wild buffalo should be respected as a wild, migratory species. The park should work with state and tribal officials to cease, or at the very least ease, hunting pressure at park boundaries in Montana.
- Quarantine, or the greenwash-titled Bison Conservation Transfer Program, is just another way to remove buffalo from the wild population through domestication and relocation.
- Wild buffalo need to be free to roam, like deer, elk, and all other wildlife species.
- Lethal management, including hunting, must cease until the population rebounds; the state of Montana hosts over 1 million cattle; she can make room for at least 1 million of her native wild bison.
- Human barriers and behavior must change. The burden has been placed on wild buffalo for far too long and it is time for the human to change behavior and learn to coexist. That includes amending fencing that choke migration corridors, implementing safe passage infrastructure along roads and highways, restoring native vegetation, and removing harmful, invasive species (i.e. cattle) who are blocking wild bison restoration.
Thank you for taking action! Please spread the word!
WILD IS THE WAY ~ ROAM FREE!
