PBS - THE BUFFALO WAR: In Their Shoes, Rancher Coping

Montana's ranching and livestock community have approached the bison situation by putting themselves into the hands of the state government. The Montana Department of Livestock was assigned to serve as the lead agency to manage the brucellosis issue.

Some people question whether the Board of Livestock should have the authority to implement the bison management plan because its members are ranchers. They have a vested interest and their participation in bison management is [seen as] a conflict of interest.
Interagency Bison Management Plan draft

Give me a home where disease-free buffalo roam

Montana Department of Livestock brochure

In 1990, the governor of Wyoming (where the majority of Yellowstone National Park is located) appointed a task force made up of cattle ranchers, hunters and representatives from affected state agencies: the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service and the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. They recommended that Wyoming, Montana and Idaho establish an interagency brucellosis task force that would take steps in eradicating the disease in elk and bison. The Greater Yellowstone Interagency Brucellosis Committee was formed.

Killing suspect animals generally is necessary to obtain adequate samples for bacteriologic culture.
Greater Yellowstone Interagency Brucellosis Committee

Montana's "preferred alternative" to the problem is the Interagency Bison Management Plan which is based on the "knowledge" that the bison herd in Yellowstone is "chronically infected with brucellosis," although many disagree.

"The Department of Agriculture realizes that the bison are a potential threat to Montana cattle. The key difference now is that we think, we believe, we have scientific evidence that says we can protect Montana cattle from this threat without having to kill dozens or hundreds of bison."
Patrick Collins, U.S. Department of Agriculture

While waiting for scientific and humane solutions, the bison issue remains a costly problem for ranchers and an ongoing management problem for park and Montana government officials.