That appears to be a bison. Image Credit: Jay Joshi.

Yellowstone National Park — An ongoing lawsuit shows how hard it is to find consensus, especially regarding the environment, in today’s day and age.

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports that a U.S. District Court Judge recently heard a case that involves a plan for bison at Yellowstone National Park. The National Park Service (NPS) is aiming to pause the lawsuit, while conservation groups want it to continue. The NPS called for the lawsuits to be halted so it could complete its decision making process, while its opponents argued for the lawsuits to continue.

All this debate is over the 2024 Yellowstone National Park Bison Management Plan. The plan was to maintain 3,500-6,000 bison in the park, an increase from the approximately 3,600-3,700 post-calving bison in the 2000 plan. By the end of each winter, the 2000 plan has an estimated population of around 3,000 bison.

Montana sued following the adoption of the decision, arguing that the cattle that live near the park would contract brucellosis, which can kill cattle fetuses. The state also claims it violates the National Environmental Policy Act and other laws because the feds did not work closely enough with Montana, among other concerns.

They also faced a lawsuit from a couple of conservation groups, who called for a new environmental review due to what they claim is an insufficient analysis. These two lawsuits eventually got merged into one. It should be noted that some conservation groups are siding with the National Park Service.

In response to the concerns, the National Park Service plans to do a follow-up assessment. The Department of Justice (DOJ) argues that pausing the lawsuit will allow it to conduct a supplemental environmental impact statement, which it aims to complete in October 2027. While Montana agreed with the NPS, conservation groups didn’t. The opponents argue that this updated plan would face new lawsuits, leading to a reset.

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A decision wasn’t made by U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris during the hearing, but a ruling is expected within 18 months. Sounds like we’re in for a timely resolution to this matter.

Image/Video Credits: Jay Joshi, CBS News, Yellowstone National Park

Born and raised in New Hampshire, Ian Wood became passionate about the ski industry while learning to ski at Mt. Sunapee. In high school, he became a ski patroller at Proctor Ski Area. He travelled out...