Motivated bison can easily cross or destroy fences generally effective at constraining cattle.

Bison- roof fences can be expensive, and if not carefully designed, may hinder passage by other wildlife. Efforts to reduce a bison’s motivation to breach fences can greatly reduce the costs of fencing required to contain animals, and reduce adverse effects on other species.

More detailed recommendations and evaluations should be consulted before any construction begins. In general, a three-strand barbed-wire fence can hold bison that have been trained to avoid fences and that are not strongly motivated to cross the fence. High-tensile wire is more commonly used to build new bison fences or to reinforce existing ones. Some prefer net-wire fences, but depending on design, they can be formidable barriers to other animals that need passage. Electric fences, high tensile or otherwise, greatly increase the barrier effect to bison, and also condition them to avoid fences in general.

High tensile fences with the bottom wire at least 51 cm off the ground and the top wire 107-132 cm off the ground will constrain bison under most circumstances, while still permitting deer and pronghorn to pass under the fence and most elk to jump over the fence.

Factors that can modify the effectiveness of fencing include: