The new expanded geographic range for the Yellowstone National Park bison adds almost an additional 400 square miles for the bison to roam year round in Montana. According to the Decision Notice for the Year Round Habitat for Yellowstone Bison Environmental Assessment, here is what the official boundaries will be:
- Year-round access to Horse Butte, and north along U.S. Highway 191 up to and including the Taylor Fork Drainage, as well as the Cabin Creek Wildlife Management Area and the Monument Mountain Unit of the Lee Metcalf Wilderness
- Bull Bison will have year-round access within the Gardiner Basin from the northern boundary of YNP to the southern entrance of Yankee Jim Canyon. All bison will be managed to prohibit travel north of the hydrologic divide (i.e. mountain ridge-tops) toward Dome Mountain/Paradise Valley and Tom Miner Basin.
- However YNP bison will not be permitted south of the south fork of the Madison River outside of YNP, and in that area will continue to be managed under the 2000 IBMP Record of Decision.
As listed in the Decision Notice for the Year Round Habitat for Yellowstone Bison Environmental Assessment, State managers “will mange the bison population in the Horse Butte area and up through the Taylor For Drainage within ranges or limits that avoid unacceptable human conflicts.” The amount of bison allowed in this new area changes depending on the season and ranges from 250 in the summer to “approximately” 600 in the spring, defined as March through June.
The discussion on Management appears to even less clear. “This decision provided state agency managers (Montana Department of Livestock and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks) management discretion on the ground to address potential threats as they are anticipated or arise.” Hazing, trapping, or being lethally removed are listed as solutions to keep the bison within the new management area and to address “anticipated contact with cattle, damage to private property, or risk to human safety”.
For Additional Information:
Decision Issued on Year-round Habitat for Yellowstone Bison
-The governor's official press release and a link to the Bison Decision
Montana Governor Allows Bison to Roam Outside Park
-Article in the Billings Gazette by Matthew Brown about the decision
© Northern Ag Network 2015
