Yellowstone National Park: Preliminary Observations on the Implementation of the Interagency Bison Management Plan
Published: 2007-03-20T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: Yellowstone National Park, in northwest Wyoming, is home to a herd of about 3,600 free-roaming bison. Some of these bison routinely attempt to migrate from the park in the winter. Livestock owners and public officials in states bordering the park have concerns about the bison leaving the park because many are infected with brucellosis--a contagious bacterial disease that some fear could be transmitted to cattle, thus potentially threatening the economic health of the states' livestock industry. Other interested groups believe that the bison should be allowed to roam freely both within and outside the park. In an effort to address these concerns, five federal and Montana state agencies agreed to an Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP) in December 2000 that includes three main steps to "maintain a wild, free-ranging population of bison and address the risk of brucellosis transmission to protect the economic interest and viability of the livestock industry in Montana." This testimony discusses GAO's preliminary observations on the progress that has been made in implementing the IBMP and the extent to which bison have access to lands and an easement acquired for $13 million in federal funds. It is based on GAO's visit to the greater Yellowstone area, interviews with federal and state officials and other interested stakeholders, and review of related documents.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: More than 6 years after approving the IBMP, the five federal and state partnering agencies--the federal Department of the Interior's National Park Service and Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Forest Service, and the state of Montana's Departments of Livestock and of Fish, Wildlife and Parks--remain in step one of the three-step plan primarily because cattle continue to graze on certain private lands. A key condition for the partner agencies to progress further under the plan requires that cattle no longer graze in the winter on certain private lands north of Yellowstone National Park and west of the Yellowstone River to minimize the risk of brucellosis transmission from bison to cattle; the agencies anticipated meeting this condition by the winter of 2002/2003. Until this condition is met, bison will not be allowed to roam beyond the park's northern border in this area. While a prior attempt to acquire grazing rights on these private lands was unsuccessful, Montana's Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks is currently negotiating with the private land owner to acquire grazing rights on these lands. Yellowstone bison have limited access to the lands and conservation easement that federal agencies acquired north of the park. In 1998 and 1999, as part of a larger conservation effort to provide habitat for a variety of wildlife species, protect geothermal resources, and improve recreational access, federal agencies spent nearly $13 million to acquire 5,263 acres and a conservation easement on 1,508 acres of private lands north of the park's border--lands towards which bison frequently attempt to migrate in the winter. The conservation easement prohibits development, such as the construction of commercial facilities and roads, on the private land; cattle grazing rights were retained by the land owner. The Yellowstone bison's access to these lands will remain limited until cattle no longer graze on the easement and certain other private lands in the area.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: I am pleased to be here today to discuss our preliminary work on issues  related to managing bison in the Yellowstone National Park area. Bison  lived in this area long before the park was established in 1872, and have  been under some form of human management since the early 1900s. In  1901, after years of hunting and poaching, the Yellowstone herd had been  reduced to about 25 bison. For nearly the next six decades, bison  management in the park emphasized reestablishing the bison herd and  controlling the size of the population. Through a policy of natural  regulation adopted by the park in the 1960s, the bison population has  increased, and about 3,600 bison roam the park and surrounding areas  today.
Brucellosis—a contagious bacterial disease that can infect domestic  animals, wildlife, and humans—was first found in the Yellowstone bison  herd in 1917 and is believed to have been transmitted from livestock.  Livestock owners and public officials in the states bordering the park are  concerned about brucellosis in the bison herd because of the risk of bison  transmitting the disease back to cattle and the economic impact such an  occurrence could have on the livestock industry. The state of Montana and  its livestock industry, in particular, have been active in protecting the  brucellosis-free status that the state has held since 1985 by advocating for  limits on bison migration. These efforts have been opposed by advocacy  groups working to expand bison habitat and protect the wild free-roaming  character of the bison, and who assert that there has never been a  documented case of brucellosis transmission from bison to cattle in the  wild. Many years of public controversy over the management of bison in  the Yellowstone National Park area have ensued as a result of these  competing concerns.
In an effort to address these concerns in the early 1990s, the Department  of the Interior’s (Interior’s) National Park Service, the Department of  Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and  Forest Service, and Montana’s Departments of Livestock and Fish, Wildlife  and Parks agreed to develop a joint long-term bison management strategy.  This joint planning effort ultimately resulted in a three-step, Interagency  Bison Management Plan (IBMP) that was agreed upon by the five federal  and state partner agencies in December 2000. Concurrent with the  development of a bison management strategy, the Forest Service was also  pursuing the acquisition of certain private lands and conservation  easements near the northern boundary of the park to expand critical  migration and winter range habitat for a variety of wildlife species, protect  geothermal resources, and improve recreational access.
My testimony today summarizes work performed to date that GAO began  in mid-January 2007 at the request of the Chairman of the House  Committee on Natural Resources and Congressman Maurice D. Hinchey.  GAO previously reported on the bison management issue and development  of the IBMP in the 1990s. A list of related GAO products is provided in  appendix I. Our current work is focused on determining: (1) the progress  that has been made in implementing the IBMP and the associated costs  and challenges; (2) what lands and easements north of Yellowstone  National Park, acquired for $13 million in federal funds, have been made  available to bison and other wildlife; and (3) what advances have been  made in developing a brucellosis vaccine and remote delivery method for  bison. To begin addressing these objectives, we visited the Yellowstone  National Park area to attend an interagency sponsored public meeting on  the IBMP, tour the bison management areas near Yellowstone National  Park, interview federal and state agency officials as well as members of  interested stakeholder groups, and review relevant documentation. We  have conducted our work to date in accordance with generally accepted  government auditing standards.
Over the next several weeks, we will continue to collect and analyze  information to refine our approach for completing the review. To date, our  efforts have focused mostly on the first two broad objectives. Thus, my  remarks today will provide our preliminary findings on the first two  objectives.
subsections: section_title: Background
paragraphs: Yellowstone National Park is at the center of about 20 million acres of  publicly and privately owned land, overlapping three states—Idaho,  Montana, and Wyoming. This area is commonly called the greater  Yellowstone area or ecosystem and is home to numerous species of  wildlife, including the largest concentration of free-roaming bison in the  United States. Bison are considered an essential component of this  ecosystem because they contribute to the biological, ecological, cultural,  and aesthetic purposes of the park. However, because the bison are  naturally migratory animals, they seasonally attempt to migrate out of the  park in search of suitable winter range.
The rate of exposure to brucellosis in Yellowstone bison is currently  estimated at about 50 percent. Transmission of brucellosis from bison to  cattle has been documented under experimental conditions, but not in the  wild. Scientists and researchers disagree about the factors that influence  the risk of wild bison transmitting brucellosis to domestic cattle and are  unable to quantify the risk. Consequently, the IBMP partner agencies are  working to identify risk factors that affect the likelihood of transmission,  such as the persistence of the brucellosis-causing bacteria in the  environment and the proximity of bison to cattle, and are attempting to  limit these risk factors using various management actions.
The National Park Service first proposed a program to control bison at the  boundary of Yellowstone National Park in response to livestock industry  concerns over the potential transmission of brucellosis to cattle in 1968.  Over the next two decades, concerns continued over bison leaving the  park boundaries, particularly after Montana’s livestock industry was  certified brucellosis-free in 1985. In July 1990, the National Park Service,  Forest Service, and Montana’s Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks  formed an interagency team to examine various alternatives for the long- term management of the Yellowstone bison herd. Later, the interagency  team was expanded to include USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection  Service and the Montana Department of Livestock. In 1998, USDA and  Interior jointly released a draft environmental impact statement (EIS)  analyzing several proposed alternatives for long-term bison management  and issued a final EIS in August 2000. In December 2000, the interagency  team agreed upon federal and state records of decision detailing the long- term management approach for the Yellowstone bison herd, commonly  referred to as the IBMP. “maintain a wild, free-ranging population of bison and address the risk of brucellosis  transmission to protect the economic interest and viability of the livestock industry in  Montana.”
Although managing the risk of brucellosis transmission from bison to  cattle is at the heart of the IBMP, the plan does not seek to eliminate  brucellosis in bison. The plan instead aims to create and maintain a spatial  and temporal separation between bison and cattle sufficient to minimize  the risk of brucellosis transmission. In addition, the plan allows for the  partner agencies to make adaptive management changes as better  information becomes available through scientific research and operational  experience.
Under step one of the plan, bison are generally restricted to areas within  or just beyond the park’s northern and western boundaries. Bison  attempting to leave the park are herded back to the park. When attempts  to herd the bison back to the park are repeatedly unsuccessful, the bison  are captured or lethally removed. Generally, captured bison are tested for  brucellosis exposure. Those that test positive are sent to slaughter, and  eligible bison—calves and yearlings that test negative for brucellosis  exposure—are vaccinated. Regardless of vaccination-eligibility, partner  agency officials may take a variety of actions with captured bison that test  negative including, temporarily holding them in the capture facility for  release back into the park or removing them for research. In order to  progress to step two, cattle can no longer graze in the winter on certain  private lands north of Yellowstone National Park and west of the  Yellowstone River. Step two, which the partner agencies expected to  reach by the winter of 2002/2003, would use the same management  methods on bison attempting to leave the park as in step one, with one  exception—a limited number of bison, up to a maximum of 100, that test  negative for brucellosis exposure would be allowed to roam in specific  areas outside the park. Finally, step three would allow a limited number of  untested bison, up to a maximum of 100, to roam in specific areas outside  the park when certain conditions are met. These conditions include  determining an adequate temporal separation period, gaining sufficient  experience in managing bison in the bison management areas, and  initiating an effective vaccination program using a remote delivery system  for eligible bison inside the park. The partner agencies anticipated  reaching this step on the northern boundary in the winter of 2005/2006 and  the western boundary in the winter of 2003/2004.
In 1997, as part of a larger land conservation effort in the greater  Yellowstone area, the Forest Service partnered with the Rocky Mountain  Elk Foundation—a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring the future  of elk, other wildlife and their habitat—to develop a Royal Teton Ranch  (RTR) land conservation project. The ranch is owned by and serves as the  international headquarters for the Church Universal and Triumphant, Inc.  (the Church)—a multi-faceted spiritual organization. It is adjacent to the  northern boundary of Yellowstone National Park and is almost completely  surrounded by Gallatin National Forest lands. The overall purpose of the  conservation project was to preserve critical wildlife migration and winter  range habitat for a variety of species, protect geothermal resources, and  improve recreational access. The project included several acquisitions  from the Church, including the purchase of land and a wildlife  conservation easement, a land-for-land exchange, and other special  provisions such as a long-term right of first refusal for the Rocky Mountain  Elk Foundation to purchase remaining RTR lands. The project was funded  using fiscal years 1998 and 1999 Land and Water Conservation Fund  appropriations totaling $13 million.
section_title: Implementation of the IBMP Remains in Step One Because Cattle Continue to Graze on RTR Lands
paragraphs: Implementation of the IBMP remains in step one because cattle continue  to graze on RTR lands north of Yellowstone National Park and west of the  Yellowstone River. All Forest Service cattle grazing allotments on its lands  near the park are held vacant, and neither these lands nor those acquired  from the Church are occupied by cattle. The one remaining step to achieve  the condition of cattle no longer grazing in this area is for the partner  agencies to acquire livestock grazing rights on the remaining private RTR  lands. Until cattle no longer graze on these lands, no bison will be allowed  to roam beyond the park’s northern border, and the agencies will not be  able to proceed further under the IBMP.
Although unsuccessful, Interior attempted to acquire livestock grazing  rights on the remaining RTR lands in August 1999. The Church and Interior  had signed an agreement giving Interior the option to purchase the  livestock grazing rights, contingent upon a federally approved appraisal of  the value of the grazing rights and fair compensation to the Church for  forfeiture of this right. The appraisal was completed and submitted for  federal review in November 1999. In a March 2000 letter to the Church,  Interior stated that the federal process for reviewing the appraisal was  incomplete and terminated the option to purchase the rights. As a result,  the Church continues to exercise its right to graze cattle on the RTR lands  adjacent to the north boundary of the park, and the agencies continue  operating under step one of the IBMP.
More recently, the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks has re- engaged Church officials in discussions regarding a lease arrangement for  Church-owned livestock grazing rights on the private RTR lands. Given the  confidential and evolving nature of these negotiations, specific details  about funding sources or the provisions being discussed, including the  length of the lease and other potential conditions related to bison  management, are not yet available.
Although the agencies continue to operate under step one of the plan, they  reported several accomplishments in their September 2005 Status Revew i   of Adaptve Management Elements for 2000-2005. These accomplishments  included updating interagency field operating procedures, vacating  national forest cattle allotments within the bison management areas, and  conducting initial scientific studies regarding the persistence of the  brucellosis-causing bacteria in the environment.
section_title: Federal Land and Easement Acquisitions Sought to Provide Critical Habitat for Many Species, But Bison Access to These Lands Remains Limited
paragraphs: The lands and conservation easement acquired by the federal government  through the RTR land conservation project sought to provide critical  habitat for a variety of wildlife species including bighorn sheep, antelope,  elk, mule deer, bison, grizzly bear, and Yellowstone cutthroat trout;  however, the value of this acquisition for the Yellowstone bison herd is  minimal because bison access to these lands remains limited. The Forest  Service viewed the land conservation project as a logical extension of past  wildlife habitat acquisitions in the northern Yellowstone region. While the  Forest Service recognized bison as one of the migrating species that might  use the habitat and noted that these acquisitions could improve the  flexibility of future bison management, the project was not principally  directed at addressing bison management issues.
Through the RTR land conservation project, the federal government  acquired from the Church a total of 5,263 acres of land and a 1,508-acre  conservation easement using $13 million in Land and Water Conservation  Fund appropriations. As funding became available and as detailed  agreements could be reached with the Church, the following two phases  were completed. In Phase I, the Forest Service used $6.5 million of its  fiscal year 1999 Land and Water Conservation Fund appropriation to  purchase Church-owned lands totaling 3,107 acres in June and December  1998 and February 1999. Of these lands, 2,316 acres were RTR lands, 640  acres were lands that provided strategic public access to other Gallatin  National Forest lands, and 151 acres were an in-holding in the Absaroka  Beartooth Wilderness area.
In Phase II, BLM provided $6.3 million of its fiscal year 1998 Land and  Water Conservation Fund appropriations for the purchase of an additional  2,156 acres of RTR lands and a 1,508-acre conservation easement on the  Devil’s Slide area of the RTR property in August 1999. In a December 1998  letter to the Secretary of the Interior from the Chairs and Ranking Minority  Members of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, certain  conditions were placed on the use of these funds. The letter stated that  “the funds for phase two should only be allocated by the agencies when  the records of decision for the ‘Environmental Impact Statement for the  Interagency Bison Management Plan for the State of Montana and  Yellowstone National Park’ are signed and implemented.” The letter also  stated that the Forest Service and Interior were to continue to consult with  and gain the written approval of the governor of Montana regarding the  terms of the conservation easement. Under the easement, numerous  development activities, including the construction of commercial facilities  and road, are prohibited. However, the Church specifically retained the  right to graze domestic cattle in accordance with a grazing management  plan that was to be reviewed and approved by the Church and the Forest  Service. The Church’s grazing management plan was completed in  December 2002, and the Forest Service determined in February 2003 that it  was consistent with the terms of the conservation easement. The Church  currently grazes cattle throughout the year on portions of its remaining  6,000 acres; however, as stipulated in the conservation easement and  incorporated in the grazing management plan, no livestock can use any of  the 1,508 acres covered by the easement between October 15 and June 1 of  each calendar year, the time of year that bison would typically be  migrating through the area.
While purchased for wildlife habitat, geothermal resources, and  recreational access purposes, the federally acquired lands and  conservation easement have been of limited benefit to the Yellowstone  bison. As previously noted, under the IBMP, until cattle no longer graze on  private RTR lands north of the park and west of the Yellowstone River, no  bison are allowed to migrate onto these private lands and the partner  agencies are responsible for assuring that the bison remain within the park  boundary.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared statement. Because we are in  the very early stages of our work, we have no conclusions to offer at this  time regarding these bison management issues. We will continue our  review and plan to issue a report near the end of this year. I would be  pleased to answer any questions that you or other Members of the  Subcommittee may have at this time.
section_title: GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments
paragraphs: For further information on this testimony, please contact me at (202) 512- 3841 or nazzaror@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional  Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this  statement. David P. Bixler, Assistant Director; Sandra Kerr; Diane Lund;  and Jamie Meuwissen made key contributions to this statement.
section_title: Related GAO Products
paragraphs: Wid feManagement: Negota ons on a LongTerm Plan or Managing  Yellowstone Bson Still Ongoing. GAO/RCED-00-7. Washington, D.C.: i November 1999.
Wid feManagement: Issues Concernng the Management of Bson and  Elk Herds n Ye owstone Natonal Park. GAO/T-RCED-97-200. llii Washington, D.C.: July 1997.
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