Environmentalists are looking to legally defend a new federal bison management plan for Yellowstone National Park that allows herd sizes to expand.
The plan, which would expand populations of the keystone species and prioritizes transfer of bison to Native American lands, has been the target of a lawsuit by the state of Montana. Now, as President Donald Trump’s administration could potentially reverse course on herd expansion, the Sierra Club and Cottonwood Environmental Law Center are looking to be added to the lawsuit as defendants.
“Gov. [Greg] Gianforte continues to prove he’s more interested in siding with a small number of wealthy landowners instead of everyday Montanans who deeply love our nation’s most iconic mammals,” said Caryn Miske, Montana Sierra Club’s chapter director, in a statement. “Tribes, biologists, public lands officials and wildlife experts came together to determine this herd can safely grow and provide hunting opportunities to people whose treaty rights have been violated since their inception.”
The new bison management plan, released during President Joe Biden’s administration, would allow herds to swell to up to 6,000 in Yellowstone National Park, which spans parts of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.
