U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) officials announced that petitions to list the Yellowstone bison under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) present “substantial, credible information indicating that a listing action may be warranted.”
The petitions received from Western Watersheds Project, Buffalo Field Campaign and author James Horsley argued the plains bison in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem constitute a distinct population segment (DPS) and warrant listing on the ESA.
The petitioners first proposed listing the Yellowstone bison in 2014 and 2015. USFWS found the petitions “did not provide substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted.” In 2016, Western Watersheds Project, Buffalo Field Campaign and Friends of Animals filed suit under the ESA and the Administrative Procedure Act, asserting USFWS’ determination was arbitrary and capricious.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered USFWS to conduct a new 90-day finding in 2018, and they again determined that action was not warranted. The environmental groups again brought suit with the same assertions.
The petitioners argued Yellowstone bison contain two genetically distinct subpopulations, the central and northern herds. The groups cited a 2012 study that found the two herds were genetically distinct and clearly defined subpopulations based on “both genotypic diversity and allelic distributions.”
USFWS disputed the claims and said the petitioners “failed to adequately account for mixing between the central and northern herds.” USFWS cited a different study that examined the bison’s mitochondrial DNA and did not support the claims of distinct bison populations. District of Columbia Judge Randolph D. Moss said the agency failed to articulate “a ‘rational connection between the facts found and the choice made’” from one study over the other.
On Jan. 12, 2022, the court again remanded the finding to USFWS to conduct a new 90-day finding.
Upon remanding, USFWS stated, “The petitioners presented credible information to indicate potential threats to the DPS from reductions of its range due to loss of migration routes, lack of tolerance for bison outside Yellowstone National Park and habitat loss.”
USFWS cited the Interagency Bison Management Plan regarding the bison’s migration and cattle ranchers’ lack of tolerance for bison. The plan addresses the spread of brucellosis from bison to cattle and manages enough bison to support a healthy population and some migrations out of the park.
Currently, the park’s bison population is managed in three ways: Tribal hunts and state hunts outside Yellowstone’s boundary, capture and transfer to Tribes for shipment to slaughter, and capture for brucellosis testing and transfer to Tribes to start their bison herds.
The petitioners also argued that a loss of genetic diversity due to low population numbers harms the species.
Population numbers were a source of contention when former Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk clashed with then-Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke over a sustainable number the park could maintain. Wenk said the park could sustain over 4,000 bison, while Zinke argued for closer to 3,000 and told Wenk to manage the park’s bison “more actively like cattle on a ranch.” The clash resulted in Wenk retiring in 2018.
According to the National Park Service, as of the summer of 2021, there are approximately 5,450 bison, including the northern herd (about 4,100) and central herd (about 1,300). The petitioners argued the population for the northern and central herds should be 3,000 each.
The office of Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) was disappointed with USFWS’ decision to explore the ESA listing for the Yellowstone bison and said the state would remain engaged in the process.
“The recovery of the bison in the West is an outstanding conservation success story. Unfortunately, lawsuit-prone special interest groups are seeking to upend years of diligent coordination and cooperative management,” Gianforte spokesperson Brooke Stroyke said in an email to Montana Free Press.
“The State of Montana will participate in the 12-month review process, working to ensure that the best available science is considered.”
USFWS will evaluate the validity of each DPS and any threats in detail based on “the best scientific and commercial data available” and then make a 12-month finding.
Public comments regarding the status review can be submitted by visiting www.regulations.gov and searching for docket number FWS-R6-ES-2022-0028. — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
