Episode 1

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About the IBMP

The Yellowstone bison herd is managed under something called the Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP). The IBMP website has the details on what the IBMP is, bison basics, and other useful information.

You don't have to understand every detail of the IBMP to weigh in on the future of Yellowstone's bison herd, but getting somewhat familiar with it will help your voice to be heard.

Attend IBMP Meetings

Anyone can attend IBMP meetings. Here's a list of past meetings and the schedule for the rest of this year. The next one is scheduled for April 6, 2017 in West Yellowstone.

Who Are the IBMP Partners?

There are 8 partners involved in the IBMP:

• National Park Service

• USDA-Forest Service

• USDA-Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)

• Montana Department of Livestock

• Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks

• Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes

• Inter Tribal Buffalo Council

• Nez Perce Tribe

Contact information for all of the partners is given below.

Help Shape the New IBMP

Right now, the IBMP is being rewritten. It's a process that has many steps, and when it's done, it will impact bison management for a long time. If you're passionate about the future of bison in America, you need to get your voice heard in this process.

The IBMP partners are currently trying come to an agreement on what kinds of alternatives will be considered in the new plan. Think of it like an initial weeding out of options: if there are 50 ideas for how we should be managing Yellowstone bison, this is where they winnow that list down to the top 3 or 4 options.

There is no formal requirement for the public to be involved in this important step in the IBMP process. This is something the partners decide behind closed doors. However, your opinion can still have an impact. You can contact the IBMP partners and tell them what kinds of alternatives you think should be included in the new plan.

Once the partners decide on the range of alternatives, each of those options will be assessed. Eventually, the public will be invited to formally comment on the different alternatives, and those comments are supposed to have a meaningful impact on the final management plan. We're probably many months away from the public comment part of the process.

What You Can Do Right Now

The IBMP rewrite process is moving very slowly. If you'd like the partners to take action,  let them know. And if you have a vision for what you want the future of wild bison to look like in the United States, you should tell them that too. Yellowstone bison are held in public trust. It's the right and responsibility of every citizen of the country to help decide how we should manage them.

Here's how to contact the key players. It's a long list. We'd recommend starting with Yellowstone, APHIS, the Governor of Montana and officials at the Montana Department of Livestock.