I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2428 

To provide for the protection of the last remaining herd of wild and genetically 

pure American Buffalo. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 18, 2005 

Mr. HINCHEY (for himself and Mr. BASS) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for the protection of the last remaining herd 

of wild and genetically pure American Buffalo. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. YELLOWSTONE BUFFALO PRESERVATION. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act’’. 

6 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) More than any other animal, the American 

8 buffalo (Bison bison) is a wildlife icon of the United 

9 States. The American buffalo is the symbol that rep10 resents the Department of the Interior. The Amer-
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1 ican buffalo is profoundly significant to Native 

2 American cultures and, perhaps more than any other 

3 wildlife species, has influenced our history. 

4 (2) The American buffalo is still under assault, 

5 as it was in the late 19th Century when it was near6 ly exterminated. At the end of the great slaughter, 

7 in which tens of millions of buffalo were killed, only 

8 a few hundred wild buffalo remained in the Nation 

9 and all were located in Yellowstone National Park. 

10 Due to poaching, their numbers were reduced to 25 

11 by the year 1900. 

12 (3) The offspring of the 25 survivors comprise 

13 the Yellowstone buffalo herd and are the only wild, 

14 free-roaming American buffalo to continuously oc15 cupy their native habitat in the United States. 

16 (4) The Yellowstone buffalo herd is genetically 

17 unique. Unlike captive ranched buffalo, which are 

18 now relatively common, the Yellowstone buffalo herd 

19 has never interbred with cattle and has retained its 

20 wild character. 

21 (5) Because the Park lacks extensive low ele22 vation winter habitat that provides bison and elk 

23 with access to winter forage, wildlife migrate from 

24 the high elevation plateau of Yellowstone National 
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1 Park to lower elevation habitat adjacent to the Park 

2 in winter and spring. 

3 (6) The Yellowstone buffalo herd was exposed 

4 to the bacterium Brucella abortus, which can cause 

5 the disease brucellosis, in 1917. The only potential 

6 way Brucellosis is transmitted between species is 

7 through animal ingestion of contaminated reproduc8 tive products. Brucellosis can cause abortions in in9 fected animals, but only infectious females who have 

10 the bacteria in their reproductive system represent 

11 any potential threat of transmission. 

12 (7) The risk of transmission between wild buf13 falo and cattle was deemed low in a 1992 General 

14 Accounting Office report, and again in a 1998 Na15 tional Research Council study. In fact, there has 

16 never been a confirmed incidence of brucellosis 

17 transmission in the wild from buffalo to cattle. Buf18 falo with brucellosis and cattle have grazed together 

19 for over 50 years in the Jackson Hole area south of 

20 Yellowstone without any incident of disease trans21 mission. 

22 (8) Despite these facts, the National Park Serv23 ice, the United States Forest Service, and the State 

24 of Montana Department of Livestock haze, capture, 

25 and kill members of the Yellowstone buffalo herd in 
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1 an attempt to keep them unnaturally confined within 

2 Yellowstone National Park. At the same time, ap3 proximately 13,000 Yellowstone elk, some of which 

4 also harbor brucellosis, are allowed unfettered access 

5 to Federal land outside the Park. Since 1984, nearly 

6 4,000 American buffalo have been killed in Montana 

7 as a result of this policy. In the winters of 2002 

8 through 2005, 811 buffalo were killed by the Fed9 eral and State agencies, including 496 buffalo cap10 tured and slaughtered by the National Park Service. 

11 (9) The key lower elevation habitat needed by 

12 American buffalo is on Gallatin National Forest 

13 lands adjacent to the north and west sides of the 

14 Park. On the north side, taxpayers spent 

15 $13,000,000 in 1999 for a private-Federal land ex16 change intended to make low elevation habitat adja17 cent to the Yellowstone River accessible to the Yel18 lowstone buffalo herd and other wildlife. The land 

19 exchange failed to provide adequate protection and 

20 conservation benefits for buffalo, therefore key habi21 tat is not available to the Yellowstone buffalo herd. 

22 (10) On the west side of the Park, the Horse 

23 Butte peninsula provides prime wildlife habitat for 

24 grizzly bears, trumpeter swans, bald eagles, wolves, 

25 and buffalo. The peninsula comprises approximately 
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1 10,000 acres of primarily Gallatin National Forest 

2 Federal lands extending into Hebgen Lake. 

3 (11) National Park Service lands have been set 

4 aside for the conservation of resources and values 

5 and for the enjoyment and use of all citizens. The 

6 Federal lands adjacent to the Park represent some 

7 of the most valuable and important wildlife habitat 

8 in the lower 48 States. They are integrally connected 

9 to the health of wildlife residing seasonally in our 

10 Nation’s oldest national park. Together, the Park 

11 and the adjacent Federal lands provide some of our 

12 Nation’s richest opportunities for recreation, wildlife 

13 viewing, family camping, wildlife conservation, fish14 ing, and other recreational and sporting activities. 

15 These Federal lands should be preferentially man16 aged to sustain this rich and diverse wildlife re17 source and to provide the public with enjoyment of 

18 this National treasure. 

19 (c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide 

20 for the protection of the Yellowstone buffalo herd by allow21 ing the Yellowstone buffalo herd to freely roam defined 

22 Federal land outside of the Park. 

23 (d) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section, 

24 the following definitions apply: 
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1 (1) HAZING.—The term ‘‘hazing’’ means any 

2 individual effort to drive away, obstruct, chase, 

3 scare, or deter natural movements of wildlife, includ4 ing efforts carried out on foot or horseback or ef5 forts aided by machinery, aircraft, or any type of 

6 noise making device. 

7 (2) AGENT.—The term ‘‘agent’’ means any per8 son acting on behalf of a State or Federal Govern9 ment. 

10 (3) PARK.—The term ‘‘Park’’ means Yellow11 stone National Park. 

12 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

13 the Secretary of the Interior. 

14 (5) YELLOWSTONE BUFFALO HERD.—The term 

15 ‘‘Yellowstone buffalo herd’’ means the wild, unfenced 

16 buffalo living primarily within Yellowstone National 

17 Park. 

18 (6) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

19 refers to those lands within the Park and Federal 

20 lands adjacent to it on the north and west bound21 aries within zones 2 and 3 of the Modified Preferred 

22 Alternative Map on page 181 of the 2000 Bison 

23 Management Plan for the State of Montana and 

24 Yellowstone National Park Final Environmental Im25 pact Statement. 
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1 (e) PROHIBITED ACTS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—No agent may kill, haze, or 

3 capture any buffalo on Federal land or land held 

4 under Federal conservation easements or use any 

5 form of bait to lure buffalo from any Federal land 

6 onto private land until the duties under subsection 

7 (g) are carried out. This prohibition does not apply 

8 to legally-authorized, State-managed buffalo hunts. 

9 (2) EXCEPTIONS.— 

10 (A) This prohibition shall not apply to an 

11 agent or any private party that is found to have 

12 been hazing a buffalo if a person is physically 

13 endangered or private property was damaged by 

14 a buffalo. Neither does this prohibition apply to 

15 National Park Service employees who, in the 

16 line of duty, need to move buffalo to address 

17 immediate physical public safety threats or to 

18 end the suffering of an injured buffalo. 

19 (B) This prohibition shall not apply to 

20 non-lethal Federal research on the prevention, 

21 transmission, or elimination of brucellosis in 

22 buffalo, as long as the research does not result 

23 in the removal of individual buffalo from the 

24 Park, diminish the wild, free-roaming status of 

25 the buffalo, or identify individual buffalo with 
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1 techniques such as ear tagging, back tagging, 

2 or other methods that detract or diminish the 

3 quality of the visitor’s experience within Yellow4 stone National Park. 

5 (f) PENALTIES.— 

6 (1) INITIAL VIOLATION.—Any individual found 

7 to be in violation of subsection (e) for the first time 

8 shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned 

9 not more than 1 year, or both. 

10 (2) SUBSEQUENT VIOLATIONS.—Any individual 

11 found to be in violation of subsection (e) after the 

12 first such finding shall be fined not more than 

13 $10,000 or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or 

14 both. 

15 (3) REWARD.—One half of any fine collected 

16 under this subsection or $2,500, whichever is less, 

17 shall be paid to any person or persons giving infor18 mation which leads to conviction of a violation of 

19 this subsection. 

20 (4) EXCEPTION.—This subsection shall not 

21 apply to a person that is found to have been hazing 

22 a buffalo if the person is physically endangered or 

23 private property was damaged by a buffalo. 

24 (g) DUTIES.—The Secretary and other appropriate 

25 Federal agencies shall ensure that the following duties are 
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1 accomplished not later than 3 years after the date of the 

2 enactment of this Act: 

3 (1) The Yellowstone buffalo herd is allowed to 

4 occupy and use Federal Land without being hazed 

5 or confined. These lands shall be made available 

6 preferentially for buffalo and wildlife use. 

7 (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

8 management authority of the Yellowstone buffalo 

9 herd within the Park is under the sole jurisdiction 

10 of the National Park Service. The Gallatin National 

11 Forest shall provide National Forest Service habitat 

12 and consider buffalo as a native resident wildlife 

13 species. 

14 (3) The Secretary shall not renew or extend any 

15 existing grazing permits or leases for grazing allot16 ments in zone 3 during the winter or spring. 

17 (4) The Secretary shall not issue grazing per18 mits or leases for grazing allotments in zone 3 for 

19 which no valid permit or lease exists as of the date 

20 of the enactment of this Act, and shall permanently 

21 retire the allotments from domestic livestock grazing 

22 use notwithstanding any other provision of law. 

23 (5) The Secretary has negotiated in good-faith 

24 to the extent possible with the private land owner in 

25 zone 2 in order to make all lands available as bison 
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1 habitat in the winter and spring seasons as de2 scribed in section 1(b)(9). 

3 (6) The Secretary has submitted the study re4 quired under subsection (h). 

5 (7) The National Park Service has disassembled 

6 the Stephens Creek Buffalo Capture Facility, and 

7 has not constructed a similar facility. 

8 (8) The National Park Service has prepared a 

9 comprehensive feasibility study assessing the benefits 

10 and obstacles of using Yellowstone buffalo to rees11 tablish or augment buffalo herds, or both, on public 

12 and tribal lands. The study shall provide an objec13 tive evaluation of the laws, science, logistics, humane 

14 standards, and cost-benefit analysis relevant to such 

15 a relocation program. 

16 (9) The Secretary has made every effort prac17 ticable to allow the Yellowstone buffalo herd to free18 ly roam Federal land through incentives and cooper19 ative efforts with adjacent private landowners, in20 cluding through land and easement acquisition, cat21 tle vaccination, fencing, and landowner agreements 

22 pertaining to temporal and spatial separation of live23 stock from the Yellowstone buffalo herd. 

24 (h) STUDY.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

25 the enactment of this Act, the United States Forest Serv-
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1 ice shall report to the Energy and Natural Resources 

2 Committee of the Senate and the Resources Committee 

3 of the House of Representatives regarding— 

4 (1) the success or failure of negotiations under 

5 subsection (g)(5); and 

6 (2) whether the Congress should provide the 

7 United States Forest Service or the National Park 

8 Service with additional authority to insure that all 

9 bison winter habitat is made available in zone 2. 

10 (i) PREFERENCE FOR BUFFALO AND OTHER NATIVE

11 WILDLIFE.—The preferential use of Federal land shall be 

12 for buffalo and other native wildlife. 

13 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF RESEARCH FUNDING.— 

14 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

15 such sums as may be necessary for States, federally recog16 nized Indian tribes, and Federal agencies to more fully 

17 understand the epidemiology of brucellosis and to develop 

18 improved vaccines and treatments to reduce the prevalence 

19 of brucellosis in wildlife and livestock. 

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