By: Jack Forsythe
The growing concern over bison and the population control of the species has become an increasing issue in the state of Montana.[1] Citizens of Montana and governmental agencies have been engaged in a constant debate over how to address the issue in a manner that protects the coveted species while also respecting the welfare and lifestyle of Montana ranchers and indigenous tribes.[2]
There are a plethora of issues that surround this dispute; the two most prevalent in this case are the concern that bison will contaminate the livestock, specifically cattle, with a disease known as brucellosis, and that indigenous tribes are having their right to hunt the bison stripped away.[3] Brucellosis is a bacterial disease that is highly prevalent in bison, and if introduced to domestic cattle, can cause the cattle to abort their calf and can significantly reduce their milk production.[4] If even one cow in a rancher’s herd tests positive for brucellosis, it can create a huge financial burden for the rancher.[5] In 2016, it was found that a rancher would spend upwards of $150,000 quarantining their herd in response to a singular positive case of brucellosis.[6]
Moreover, tribes inhabiting areas within Montana have asserted their treaty rights to harvest and hunt bison on forest lands controlled by the United States Forest Service.[7] However, these tribes have only received a fraction of what they were promised.[8] These tribes have only been given the ability to hunt in a 40-acre radius instead of the 3 million acres they were promised.[9] Furthermore, these 40 acres are heavily populated with state hunters and private property owners, which makes it even harder for the tribes to exercise their given rights.[10]
In the months of November and December of 2025, these issues were further brought to the center of attention by the group Neighbors against Bison Slaughter.[11] The group was created by property owner Bonnie Lynn (“Lynn”), who claimed that the United States National Park Service and United States Forest Service had abandoned their duties in managing the Yellowstone bison population.[12] Lynn and the Neighbors against Bison Slaughter addressed their concerns in a lawsuit against the federal government by stating that the agencies’ lack of control over the bison population posed a danger to hunters and property owners, while also violating a multitude of federal laws.[13]
The federal law that the Neighbors against Bison Slaughter are most concerned about is that these federal agencies allow tribal members to hunt and kill bison on public land, and close to private property.[14] To address these issues, the group is asking the court for a court order that would compel these federal agencies to complete a supplemental environmental impact statement with the goal of generating an alternative plan to address the issue of bison management.[15]
The group is stating that a new environmental impact statement is needed because 72 new circumstances of brucellosis have arisen and exist since the federal agencies last conducted an environmental impact statement in 2000.[16] Moreover, the group claims that the federal agencies have still not analyzed a plan to manage the bison in a way that is satisfactory with the treaty obligations owed to the indigenous tribes and the Montana ranchers.[17] The Neighbors against Bison Slaughter are concerned that the indigenous tribes are hunting bison on public land that is dangerously close to Montana residents’ private property, and state that an alternative solution is needed.[18]
However, despite these serious allegations and concerns, the federal government is arguing that this case is moot and has already been decided.[19] The federal government argues that this litigation has been ongoing since 2019 and was officially closed in 2024.[20] The federal government states that the Neighbors against Bison Slaughter brought this same suit in 2019 and that the US District Judge denied the group’s preliminary injunction motion and stated that there were no alleged harms that were likely and irreparable.[21] However, once again, the group filed suit in 2020, and in July 2024, the court dismissed the suit and directed the matter to be closed.[22] The federal government states that the group has not asserted any new information or allegations that were not addressed in these previous proceedings, and therefore has no standing to reopen this six-year-old dispute.[23]
Additionally, the federal agencies are not standing alone in their support of stopping any litigation that the Neighbors against Bison Slaughter are looking to reopen. The indigenous tribes that inhabit the lands surrounding the Yellowstone National Park in Montana are in support of the government’s actions.[24] The tribes state that the action that the Neighbors against Bison Slaughter are suggesting the government take will further limit the tribes’ access to hunt bison and to the treaty obligations they were promised.[25] The tribes have stated that the federal agencies’ current and future bison management plans will create an increase in tribal hunting opportunities and will help further honor their original treaty rights.[26]
However, despite these arguments, the court has not yet decided on whether the litigation is to move forward, and the 6-year-old case is to be reopened. However, depending on how the court decides on this issue, it could create monumental changes and repercussions for either side.
[1] Chris Smith, The Future of Bison in Montana?, Wildlife Mgmt. Inst. (June 2018), https://wildlifemanagement.institute/outdoor-news-bulletin/june-2018/future-bison-montana.
[2] Crystal Owns, Decade-Old Mont. Bison Dispute Spurs Call for Legal Clarity, Law360 (Nov. 17, 2025), https://www.law360.com/articles/2411907/decade-old-mont-bison-dispute-spurs-call-for-legal-clarity.
[3] See Yellowstone Bison, Western Watersheds Project (last visited Dec. 23, 2025), https://www.westernwatersheds.org/issues/species/bison/.; Owns, supra note 2.
[4] Yellowstone Bison, supra note 3.
[5] Brian Yablonski, Addressing Brucellosis Will Help Ranchers and Wildlife, Perc (Nov. 2, 2020), https://www.perc.org/2020/11/02/addressing-brucellosis-will-help-ranchers-and-wildlife/.
[6] Id.
[7] Nick Mott & Taylar Dawn Stagner, Treaty rights, bison and the country’s most controversial hunt, High Country New (Jul. 1, 2023), https://www.hcn.org/issues/55-7/indigenous-affairs-hunting-treaty-rights-bison-and-the-countrys-most-controversial-hunt/.
[8] Id.
[9] Owns, supra note 2.
[10] Id.
[11] Id.
[12] Id.
[13] Id.
[14] Id.
[15] Id.
[16] Crystal Owens, Feds Fight to Reopen Years-Old Montana Bison Dispute, Law360 (Dec. 10, 2025), https://www.law360.com/environmental/articles/2419549/feds-fight-bid-to-reopen-years-old-montana-bison-dispute-.
[17] Id.
[18] Neighbors Against Bison Slaughter v. Natl. Park Serv., 2021 WL 717094, at *1 (D. Mont. Feb. 5, 2021).
[19] Id.
[20] Owens, supra note 16.
[21] Id.
[22] Id.
[23] Id.
[24] Jay Petrequin & Chamois Andersen, Tribes, Conservation Groups Move to Defend Yellowstone Bison Plan in Court, Defs. of Wildlife (Feb. 24, 2025), https://defenders.org/newsroom/tribes-conservation-groups-move-defend-yellowstone-bison-plan-court.
[25] Id.
[26] Id.