From the National Park Service
Why don’t you just keep all the bison within Yellowstone National Park?
- While the park provides a large amount of habitat for bison, it does not provide sufficient habitat for the population during some winters when deep snow limits access to forage at higher elevations. As a result, some bison migrate to low elevation habitat outside of the park in search of food.
- Annual migration allows bison to access necessary resources for their survival—similar to bighorn sheep, deer, elk, moose, and pronghorn in the system. If migration by Yellowstone bison into Montana is restricted or shortened by human intervention, then bison numbers will be largely determined by food availability inside Yellowstone, with substantial winter mortality occurring after bison reach high densities.
- Fortified fences could be used to limit bison migrations, but they would also impede or serve as a barrier to the movements of other wildlife species such as bighorn sheep, deer, elk, moose, and pronghorn. Fencing creates a zoo-like atmosphere and is generally inconsistent with wildlife management principles for the State of Montana and the NPS.
- The distribution of hay or commercially prepared rations at locations near the boundary of Yellowstone National Park during winter could conceivably encourage bison to terminate their migration and remain in the park. However, bison and other ungulates would become increasingly reliant on these provisions while continuing to feed on vegetation in the vicinity and degrading surrounding habitats. These outcomes are contrary to the conservation of a wild bison population and NPS policies for managing biological resources. Most natural resource managers attempt to avoid the supplemental feeding of wildlife.
- What is the current bison population?
- Why are bison being removed from the population?
- How will the bison be removed from the population?
- Why are bison being shipped to meat processing facilities?
- Why can’t you harvest bison through hunting instead of shipping them to meat processing facilities?
- Why don’t you just keep all the bison within Yellowstone National Park?
- Are the bison leaving Yellowstone National Park because it is overgrazed?
- Why don’t you just let the bison roam freely outside Yellowstone National Park?
- Why don’t you allow native predators to control bison numbers?
- Why can’t you ship bison to other areas or quarantine facilities rather than meat processing facilities?
- What happens to all the meat, hides, horns, etc. from bison shipped to meat processing facilities?
- Why are bison managed differently from other wildlife and not allowed to move freely into Montana and disperse to new areas?
- Are removals of bison and shipments to meat processing facilities precedent setting for national parks?
- What are the economic costs of bison removals from Yellowstone National Park?
- Has the Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP) been successful at accomplishing its goals?
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