Buffalo FC - News from the Field

Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC)

News from the Field March 4, 2004

In this issue:

Update from the Field * Yellowstone Captures 300 Buffalo, Sends 145 to Slaughter

Acton Items: * Help us Pass the Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act * Oppose
the Buffalo Hunt--8 Days Left * Write a Letter to the Editor * BFC in
Washington DC! Save the Date! Save the Herd! Spread the Word! * Contact
Presidential -Hopeful John Kerry about the Buffalo * Last Words

---------------------------------- * Yellowstone Captures 300 Buffalo, Sends 145
to Slaughter

The past twelve days have been most difficult for the Yellowstone buffalo. 300
have been captured inside Yellowstone National Park. 145 have been handed over
to the Montana Department of Livestock (DOL) and shipped to slaughter. 154 are
being held prisoner in the Stephens Creek trap until spring, and 79 yearlings
and young buffalo have been experimented on with an ineffective cattle vaccine,
ear-tagged, and confined. All at the behest of Montana's powerful livestock
industry to "protect" cattle from a disease that Yellowstone's wild buffalo are
incapable of transmitting to livestock.

When will the state of Montana and our federal government recognize the
importance of buffalo? This question haunts me everyday. As I watch another
hundred buffalo have the doors of life close on them by government agents
entrusted to protect them, my heart grows cold. These Park Rangers with the
buffalo proudly displayed on their badges should replace the buffalo with
the domestic cow, because nowadays cows are taking precedence, even in
Yellowstone National Park.

The "lucky" buffalo that test negative are thrown in a pen until spring. This
domestication process comes complete with ear tags for the millions of tourists
who come to see the buffalo every spring, winter and fall. Cows, cows and more
cows cloud the national heritage treasure of Yellowstone and the national
forest surrounding it. All wildlife--the wolves, bears, buffalo, and coyotes-
-fear these holy cows, for when they follow their natural instincts, the cows
bring certain death. How long will the American people have to bear the costs
of supporting the cattleman's way of life?

Of all the lower 48 states of America, the Yellowstone ecosystem is the only
place still filled with the wildness of all beings that were present before
Europeans arrived. The Montana cattle industry is demanding a zero risk
situation on something that has never happened anyway, at the expense of the
US taxpayer. Elk carry brucellosis--and have recently transmitted it to
livestock --yet they are not targeted as the buffalo are. Elk are allowed to
come and go across the park boundary at will. On the north end of the Park,
the Church Universal and Triumphant (CUT), after receiving 13 million US tax
dollars to make their land available to Yellowstone wildlife, still insists on
grazing cattle on their land and demands that buffalo be killed. Give them a
call and ask them why they're still insisting that buffalo be killed. There
number is: at (406) 848-9200.

Another area of land owned by us the US taxpayers, the Eagle Creek Management
Area, is designated as a safe haven for buffalo. In contrast, to the West of
the Park, on the Gallatin National Forest, the Horse Butte Peninsula houses a
buffalo trap adjacent to a nesting area for bald eagles. Buffalo are killed
there every winter and spring to supposedly protect cattle, although the
grazing allotments have been closed for the past two years.

More than fifty Native American tribes formed a group called the Inter Tribal
Bison Cooperative (ITBC) asking for live Yellowstone Buffalo for their
reservations. Instead the Montana Department of Livestock, in an attempt at
good public relations, donate the buffalo to Native Americans after they are
slaughtered. The ITBC this week asked its members not to accept and be part of
the justification for the slaughter. "We've been discouraging the tribes from
accepting the meat, heads, and hides," said Fred DuBray, ITBC's executive
director. "It's too easy for the officials to claim they're doing these tribes
a favor," he said.

From a population of at least 30 million, now 3,000 is considered too many
buffalo. This number was not derived by science, but was a demand of the
livestock industry. These genetically and behaviorally unique creatures are
being slaughtered, beaten, and caged out of their crucial habitat by the
hundreds at the stubborn insistence of Montana's livestock industry. It is
time the madness stops.

Help us stop this terrible injustice by coming out to volunteer. We are
currently running camps in Gardiner and West Yellowstone, Montana. Everyone
here is going out everyday and rest is hard to come by. As much as I hate
to ask for money, we need it more that ever. I thank you all from the bottom
of my heart for all your years of support. Times are tough, but never as
tough as it is for the buffalo. Like the buffalo we will stand tall and
survive. Keep the pressure on and do something for the Buffalo Today.


With the Buffalo,

Mike Mease

---------------------------------- * Help us Pass the Yellowstone Buffalo
Preservation Act

-- Thanks to your efforts, we continue to gain cosponsors for H.R. 3446, the
Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act. This week, we are pleased to report
that 63 House Representatives have signed on to this critical legislation.
Please check
http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo/politico/3446.html

for talking points and to see if your Representative has signed on. If they
haven't, strongly urge them to do so. If they have, please thank them and
encourage them to speak with their colleagues. You can contact your
Representative by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 800-839-5276, and asking
to be transferred to his/her office. Or, you can use
<http://www.house.gov/writerep> to look up your
Representative and send them an email.

---------------------------------- * Oppose the Buffalo Hunt--8 Days Left

-- There are only eight more days left to send in your comments to Montana Fish,
Wildlife and Parks (FWP), and oppose the state's proposed buffalo hunt. This
so-called "fair chase" hunt is not only unethical, it's not even supported by
hunting organizations. Just another tool to eradicate buffalo from Montana, it
is all too clear that the MT Department of Livestock (DOL) - the agency that
would authorize and manage the killing - wants to use this proposal to shift
some of the focus and blame away from their involvement in buffalo slaughter.
Speak out today for the buffalo and let FWP know you strongly oppose this hunt!
Go to
http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo/press04/huntcomments.html for talking points and contact
information. Send your comments in before March 12!

---------------------------------- * Write a Letter to the Editor

-- If you've already taken action on the two issues mentioned above - and even
if you haven't - please write a letter to the editor of local, national, or
Montana papers. The editorial page is the most widely-read section of the
paper - and that includes decision-makers - so it's a terrific way to get the
word out, and demonstrate strong public support for ending the buffalo
slaughter. For a list of national and state papers to target, please visit
http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo/politico04/030304%20write%20LTE.html

If your letter is printed, please send us a copy! Send your letter via email to
bfc-media at wildrockies.org or by mail to BFC
-LTE, P.O. Box 957, W. Yellowstone, 59758. Many thanks for your continued
efforts on behalf of the buffalo.

---------------------------------- * Washington DC! Save the Date! Save the
Herd! Spread the Word!

The Buffalo Field Campaign is coming to Washington, DC the week of March 15th,
and will join other organizations for a busy week of meetings with members of
Congress, urging their support for H.R. 3446, the Yellowstone Buffalo
Preservation Act. On Thursday, March 18th, BFC field volunteers will give a
presentation at the Georgetown Patagonia store. We will show video footage
from the field, talk about the plight of Yellowstone's buffalo, and legislation
currently before Congress. The event begins at 7:00 pm, and will be held at
1048 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Washington, DC. HELP US SPREAD THE WORD! We want a
large turnout, and need help putting posters up around town. If you can help,
please visit http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo/politico/flyers-east.html

to print out a choice of three fliers. Just fill in the When and Where
information and post them everywhere! Bring your friends, family,
coworkers, and anyone you know who cares about buffalo. This will be an
unforgettable and inspiring event that you won't want to miss. See you in DC
on March 18th!

---------------------------------- * Contact Presidential-Hopeful John Kerry
about the Buffalo

With Sen. Edwards dropping out of the race, it's looking like Sen. John Kerry
will be the Democratic candidate for the Presidency. So far, the environment
hasn't even received a mention in the presidential debates - but you have the
power to change that. Please write to presidential-hopeful John Kerry and let
him know that the protection of Yellowstone's buffalo is an issue of national
importance, and should be given due attention. Urge him to support efforts to
protect the buffalo, and to stop the senseless slaughter of these majestic
creatures once and for all! To contact the campaign office in your state visit
http://www.johnkerry.com/contact/ or simply send an email to: info [at] johnkerry.com.

---------------------------------- * Last Words:

"Enough is enough. Thus far and no farther. Think of your children. Of their
children. Of the hawks, buzzards, lizards, bear. Save a little room and time
for the free play of the human spirit and the wild play of the animal kingdom"
~ Ed Abbey

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