Bison and Elk Refuge Management Plan

Defenders of Wildlife v. Kempthorne

 

Background:

Each winter, the 24,700 acre National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, hosts thousands of elk that migrate down from their summer and fall ranges at higher elevations of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Humans have fed the elk on the Refuge almost every winter since 1912, drawing approximately 7,000 elk to winter on the Refuge annually in recent years. Unfortunately, this originally generous gesture that prevented elk from starving during harsh Wyoming winters, is now causing more significantly more harm than good – both to the National Elk Refuge, and to the elk it was intended to protect. The maintenance of unnaturally high concentrations of elk on the Refuge has led to a high prevalence of wildlife diseases such as brucellocis and scabies, and a significantly increased threat of an outbreak of lethal bovine tuberculosis or chronic wasting disease – the elk equivalent of “mad cow” disease. In addition, the feeding program has led to the degradation of habitat on the Refuge and further disruption of historic elk migration patterns in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Case Background:

In July 2001, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement addressing the management of bison and elk on the National Elk Refuge and Grand Teton National Park, with habitat conservation and disease management among the stated goals for the Plan. During the years-long rulemaking process that followed, FWS considered several alternatives – including an alternative with broad support from the public and scientists that would have phased out winter feeding over a period of five years and had significant benefits for reducing disease transmission. Yet in 2007 the agency chose to continue feeding with only vague promises of action in the future. Specifically, the Management Plan speaks of developing “a structured framework” in collaboration with the Wyoming state game agency to employ “adaptive management” to reduce reliance on winter feeding – essentially a plan to make a plan. In the meantime, feeding continues indefinitely. The result is a prediction of only a minor to moderate reduction in brucellosis prevalence and no reduction in the elk herd’s vulnerability to an outbreak of chronic wasting disease.

In an effort to ensure that the Elk Refuge and Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem can support healthy and sustainable elk populations for years to come, Defenders and a coalition of conservation groups challenged the Management Plan in the federal district court for the District of Columbia on June 3, 2008. This lawsuit argues that FWS has violated the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act’s requirements to “provide for the conservation of fish, wildlife, and plants, and their habitats” and “ensure that the biological integrity, diversity, and environmental health” of the National Elk Refuge are maintained for the benefit of present and future generations. “Conservation” is defined in the Improvement Act as sustaining, restoring, and enhancing “healthy populations” of wildlife and plants – all of which the continued artificial feeding on the National Elk Refuge undermines rather than supports. This is the first suit of its kind seeking to implement these important provisions of the Refuge Improvement Act, put in place in 1997.

The lawsuit also challenges the Final Environmental Impact Statement’s failure to adequately disclose and analyze the impacts of the decision to continue indefinitely winter feeding, as required in the National Environmental Policy Act.

Ultimately, Plaintiffs seek a plan that will comply with the Refuge Improvement Act by phasing out winter feeding over a period of years, and working to restore native habitat and migration patterns, preserving the biological integrity of the National Elk Refuge and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Related Documents

Press Release (6/3/2008)
Complaint (6/3/2008)

In the News

Suit Opposes Elk Feeding in Wyoming, New York Times, 6/3/2008
Refuge feeding fought in suit, Jackson Hole News, 6/4/2008
Suit seeks to stop elk feeding on Wyoming refuge, The Associated Press, 6/3/2008

Status:


Active

Co-filers:


Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, National Wildlife Refuge Association, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, and Wyoming Outdoor Council