Buffalo Field Campaign Update 1/23/04

Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC)
http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo

News from the Field
January 23, 2004

In this issue:
* Update from the Field
* Bison Vaccination EA - Thank you for speaking out!
* The Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act - Has YOUR Rep signed on?
* Thank you for supporting the BFC!
* BFC Wish List
* Last Words

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* Update from the Field

Greetings from West Yellowstone,

Our patrols have been keeping an eye on the old buffalo bull grazing along Cougar Creek for the past two months. Watching him graze near the willow patch, with the nearest cattle more than 40 miles away, we can't help but feel frustrated by the Montana Department of Livestock's (DOL) stubborn insistence on molesting him week after week.

The old bull is causing no one any harm, yet the DOL returns every week to chase him across the invisible park boundary. Yesterday morning was no exception as agents from Helena joined local DOL agent Shane Grube on snowmobiles to disrupt the peace and haze the bull back into the park. Despite the frightening ordeal of the hazing operation, the bull is alive and well, grazing just inside the western boundary of Yellowstone National Park.

But the fate of the old bull, and that of his kin, may well take a turn for the worse in the coming weeks. Our patrols have been keeping a keen eye on a herd of 28 buffalo moving down the Madison River. As I write they are poised on the boundary and may very well be out of the park by the time you read this update. At Duck Creek, another prime migration corridor, more buffalo are heading toward the boundary.

We are ready--as ready as you can be--for the conflict that is sure to come as the buffalo leave the park and the DOL resumes the senseless slaughter that has killed more than 2,300 buffalo in the last decade. With strong corps of volunteers and backed with the support of thousands of people around the world, we will be here to bear witness and intervene on the buffalo's behalf.

If you have been thinking of volunteering, or know someone who may be interested, please contact us. The coming months will be difficult ones and we are in dire need of volunteers. All volunteers are provided with room and board so your only real expense will be travel to West Yellowstone, Montana. Write buffalo [at] wildrockies.org for more
information.

Please keep us in mind in the coming weeks, read the rest of the update, and do what you can to help. The future of the Yellowstone buffalo--America's only continuously wild herd--depends on you.

With the Buffalo,

BFC Volunteers


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* Bison Vaccination EA - Thank you for speaking out!

January 20 marked the final deadline for submitting public comment on the Bison Vaccination Environmental Assessment (EA) proposed by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). We are pleased to let you know that APHIS was flooded with heartfelt and educated testimony from buffalo supporters everywhere. Way to go! The EA calls for "eradicating" brucellosis by vaccinating Yellowstone's wild buffalo with RB51 - an ineffective vaccine designed for use in livestock. If this plan were to go into effect, wild buffalo captured by the MT Department of Livestock (DOL) would be subject to even further mistreatment, disrespect, and harm.

Didn't get your comments in on time? Don't worry - you can still take action on this issue by writing a Letter to the Editor of your local paper or any national media. The editorial page is widely read by the public and decision-makers alike, so LTEs are a terrific way to get the word out and garner support for the buffalo. Keep your letters short (about 250 words) and make a follow-up phone call to the paper's editor urging them to print it. Let us know if your letter is printed and send us a copy! For more information on the EA, please visit
http://www.wildrockies.org/Buffalo/update03/010804.html. If you need help writing a letter please drop a line to bfc-media [at] wildrockies.org.

Many thanks to each and every one of you who took the time to speak up for the buffalo and against vaccines - our collective voices speak loudly and we will be heard.

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* The Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act - Has YOUR Rep signed on?

Thanks to U.S. Representatives Hinchey and Bass we are one step closer to realizing a future of truly wild and free buffalo herds, once again roaming the western landscape unmolested. The first bill of its kind, H.R. 3446, calls for a three-year moratorium on the hazing, capturing and killing of Yellowstone's buffalo; expanding the areas to the north and west of Yellowstone in which buffalo will be allowed undisturbed access; dismantling the in-Park Stephen's Creek
Capture Facility; taking away management authority from the Montana Department of Livestock and giving it back to the Park Service.

Has YOUR Rep. Signed on to the bill? There are currently 46 co-sponsors signed on (thank you!), and just a few more will initiate Congressional hearings. Check the list below to see if your Representative's name is there. If it is, please send him/her a note of thanks. If it isn't, please keep the pressure on: continue to call, write, fax, and email, urging them to support this critical legislation. You can go one step further by writing a Letter to the Editor of your local paper. The editorial page is read by many - especially decision-makers - so these letters are key to reaching a wide audience. For more information on H.R. 3446 please visit
http://www.wildrockies.org/Buffalo/politico/3446.html. If you would like help in writing a Letter to the Editor, send a note to
bfc-media [at] wildrockies.org.

H.R. 3446 Cosponsors
Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act

As of 1/22/04

Representative State
1. Hinchey, Maurice (Co-Lead) NY
2. Bass, Charles (Co-Lead) NH
3. Inslee, Jay WA
4. Rahall, Nick WV
5. Frank, Barney MA
6. Grijalva, Raul AZ
7. Frost, Martin TX
8. Moran, Jim VA
9. Baldwin, Tammy WI
10. Miller, George CA
11. Tauscher, Ellen CA
12. Davis, Susan CA
13. Van Hollen, Chris MD
14. Towns, Edolphus NY
15. Serrano, Jose NY
16. Markey, Ed MA
17. McGovern, Jim MA
18. Kildee, Dale MI
19. Andrews, Robert NJ
20. DeFazio, Peter OR
21. Capps, Lois CA
22. Blumenauer, Earl OR
23. Gonzalez, Charles TX
24. Leach, Jim IA
25. Schakowsky, Janice IL
26. McNulty, Michael NY
27. McDermott, Jim WA
28. Baird, Brian WA
29. Moore, Dennis KS
30. Hoeffel, Joseph PA
31. Weiner, Anthony NY
32. McCollum, Betty MN
33. Wexler, Robert FL
34. Waxman, Henry CA
35. Shays, Chris CT
36. Wu, David OR
37. Fattah, Chaka PA
38. Holt, Rush NJ
39. Napolitano, Grace CA
40. Norton, Eleanor Holmes DC
41. Jackson-Lee, Shelia TX
42. Jones, Stephanie Tubbs OH
43. Kirk, Mark IL
44. Owens, Major NY
45. Neal, Richard MA
46. Kilpatrick, Caroline MI

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Thank you for supporting the BFC!

Thanks so much to all of you have been generous over the past month! Winter expenses, housing, and feeding up to 40 volunteers and media and legal work done however frugally add up. We couldn't be doing it without your support - so thanks to each and every one of you who have helped out!!!

I want to tell you about another exciting development. Our good friends at Earth Friends are again supporting our work with a matching grant. We need to generate a 3 to 1 match so if you've considered making a donation - this is a great opportunity to leverage your giving dollars. Donations are tax deductible and go directly to front lines work. Just write "match" in the memo of your check or online donation and I'll keep you updated on our progress.

Donations are tax deductible and go directly to front lines work. BFC is the only group in the field 365 days a year with the last, free roaming buffalo.

With humble thanks,
May the wild buffalo roam free,

Su
BFC Programs
POB 957
West Yellowstone, Montana 59758

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* BFC Wish List

With all the snow and cold, we are in need of more winter gear for our
volunteers. In particular we could use:
- Cross country ski boots (preferably three pin)
- Cross country bindings (also preferably three pin)
- Warm winter boots (rated for subzero temperatures)
- Gators (to keep snow and ice out of boots)
- Mini Digital Video Tapes (Mini DV tapes)
-"Mac OSX The Missing Manual 10.2" or like manual to help w/ OSX Jaguar


Thank you for your support. If you have any questions about a gear donation, please contact Amy at (406) 646 0070 or
buffalo [at] wildrockies.org.
Donations may be sent to: BFC, PO Box 957,
West Yellowstone, MT 59758.
(406) 646-0070

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* Last Words

"The only true controlling force is nature itself and it should be
nature that decides the fate of the buffalo. Do not allow the
livestock industry to have control of our nation's wildlife, because our wildlife will be treated like cattle, as is the case with buffalo right now."

--Tom Mazzarisi, Yellowstone National Park Ranger

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Buffalo Field Campaign
PO Box 957
West Yellowstone, MT 59758
http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo
buffalo [at] wildrockies.org
(406) 646-0070

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