Montana Drops Bison Lawsuit Against Yellowstone

The state of Montana filed to dismiss its own lawsuit against Yellowstone National Park over bison management.

The suit stemmed from Yellowstone’s new bison management plan, released in summer 2024. Under the framework — the first update to bison management in Yellowstone in nearly two-and-a-half decades — bison numbers would average about 5,000 in the park, allowing for the species’ ecological role on the landscape and enhancing tribal transfer and harvest opportunities outside park boundaries.

The state filed suit on New Year’s Eve 2024, renewing decades-long tension between Yellowstone Nati...