Yellowstone Bison Hunt
Yellowstone Bison Hunt
Updates, Reminders and Revised Regulations
This is a Treaty Hunt and bad choices made by individuals and their actions can jeopardize our Treaty Rights and the bison hunt for other Tribes and the State as well. During the past bison hunt seasons, numerous incidents and violations have occurred with hunters. Be advised that the Crow Tribe will now start hunting, making your awareness more critical. Please carefully review these main regulations and updates:
- Any hunter convicted of violating any CSKT Tribal or Federal law, when engaged in the Yellowstone Bison Hunt, will lose their respective bison hunting privileges for a minimum of one year and may be revoked for additional years depending upon the violation. Additionally, no hunter shall be eligible for a permit for the bison hunt season until all outstanding citations for violations of prior Yellowstone Bison Hunts have been resolved, including fulfillment of all sanctions imposed upon the hunter by the Tribal Court and/or Tribal Council.
- This is a Bison targeted hunt, please refrain from taking other species near the Park, especially Moose or Elk (State has limited or closed most of it’s hunting of Moose near the Park due to extreme low numbers).
- Tribal Council authorized two hunt permits per hunter if needed, but you must have the capacity to care for what you harvest or you will lose that privilege.
- Please harvest bull bison only in West Yellowstone.
- You can only hunt on Forest Service property, know your hunt location and Forest Service use regulations for motorized use (off-roading, snowmobiling & ATVs): Forest Service enforces a 150 yard no shooting zone surrounding any developed facilities or sites and a safe food storage standards in bear country (no gut piles within 200 yards of roads and facilities until December 1st).
- Forest Service closed lands east of highway 191 and north the town of West Yellowstone to all shooting and other lands above the town of Gardiner and the road side buffer zone at Beattie Gulch have no shooting restrictions.
- Do not leave a downed bison unattended or leave gut plies on or next to open roads (cut stomach (rumen) open when departing to spread/lower gut pile). There is a small 200 yard clean and no shooting zone area (no gut piles) from the Yellowstone Trail Road east into Beattie Gulch area.
- It is illegal to snowmobile without a groomed trail permit and on public roads open to wheeled (cars) traffic, other than in the town site of West Yellowstone.
- Cooperate with all law enforcement officers, stop at hunter checkpoints, and help other hunters in the field when possible.
- All Gardiner Basin hunters need to know the Beattie Gulch Special Permit Hunt Area and regulations (map and special rules are posted on area kiosk).
- Call our Fish, Wildlife, Recreation and Conservation Office (883-2888, ext. 7299) for updates before you go and after harvesting a bison, the hunt report card must be turned into the office within 7 days.
- The world is always watching you, act accordingly. Non-CSKT members must be clear of you while you are engaged in the taking (shooting) of a Bison.