Garber

We must decide whether the United States Forest Service’s issuance of a permit to operate a bison capture facility in Montana violated the Endangered Species Act or the National Environmental Policy Act.

I

On the precipice of ejxtinetion in the early twentieth century, the Yellowstone bison herd has been pulled back from the brink by careful management. 1 Yet the annual migration of bison out of Yellowstone National Park’s western boundary poses risks to the health of nearby livestock in Montana. See Fund for Animals, Inc. v. Lujan, 794 F.Supp. 1015, 1018 (D.Mont.1991). The bison may carry bru-cellosis, a bacterial organism that causes female bison to abort fetuses. Id. at 1019 . Brucellosis causes sterility and abortions in livestock and undulant fever in humans. *887 Id. There is no vaccine or cure for brucel-losis, and more than $1 billion has been spent on eradication efforts nationwide. Id. More than 50 percent of the Yellowstone herd tested positive for brucellosis in 1988. Id.

After a thirty-year, $30-million effort, Montana eradicated brucellosis in 1985. Id. Because the state is brucellosis-free, it may ship livestock out of state without testing, saving $1 to $2…