bison

Correction: The original post said the American Prairie Reserve will expand its disease management plan by testing 325 bison each year for the bacterial disease brucellosis for the first five years and then 150 bison annually for the next five years. The story has been updated to reflect the American Prairie Reserve will test 325 bison total during the first five years of the settlement agreement and another 150 over the next five years.

Officials set a target Wednesday to reduce bison herds living in and around Yellowstone National Park by 500 to 700 animals this winter. The yearly cull is meant to keep the population in check and prevent bison from possibly transmitting a disease to domestic cattle.

Sixteen Native American tribes across the U.S. will soon receive graduates of the bison quarantine program at the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

The InterTribal Buffalo Council Aug. 12 began transferring 40 bull bison to tribes in nine states to boost the long-term genetic health of cultural herds.

Eleven bull bison quarantined in a federal facility near Yellowstone National Park were transferred to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation on June 24. There, they’ll complete the final phase of a program to make sure they are disease free before being sent out to start or boost herds across the U.S.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks announced Monday that an elk herd in the Bangtail Mountains has tested negative for brucellosis. State wildlife managers recently completed the two-year project aimed at understanding the risk and spread of the disease in wildlife and livestock.

A landowner advocacy group in Montana filed a complaint this week against Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks saying that the department has not thoroughly explored the consequences of allowing free-roaming wild bison in the state.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks this week released a document nearly eight years in the making that outlines how bison could be restored in the state as publicly managed wildlife.