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Buffalo Field Campaign Update 5/13/04

by repost by semp
May 15 is the "zero tolerance" date for wild bison outside of Yellowstone National Park, according to the Interagency Bison Management Plan.
helenabanner.jpg
Buffalo Field Campaign

News from the Field
May 13, 2004

In this issue:
* Update from the Field
* Survey Shows Americans Oppose Slaughter of Yellowstone Buffalo
* Support the Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act
* The Buffalo Field Campaign Needs Your Support
* Call for Summer Outreach Volunteers
* Last Words

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* Update from the Field

Buffalo Supporters,

May 15 is the "zero tolerance" date for wild bison outside of Yellowstone National Park, according to the Interagency Bison Management Plan. Although the plan is an "adaptive
management" plan which allows for discretion to be applied in hazing bison back into the Park before May 15, after Saturday the plan calls for bison to be "captured or shot to ensure none remain outside the Park in the western boundary area during the applicable temporal separation period." Never mind the lack of public lands cattle allotments on Horse Butte or along the Madison River. Fortunately the Horse Butte Trap was dismantled and hauled away earlier this week, but the stakes for the last free ranging bison are about to be raised.

It is surprisingly difficult to find a buffalo outside of Yellowstone National Park these days. The relentless hazing has left little opportunity for the buffalo to follow their instincts. I miss hiking through the aspen groves and meadows of Horse Butte and finding small herds of buffalo roaming free, calves playfully running, mommas watching over their young, bulls butting heads. Buffalo these days are rarely left alone long enough to make the full trek to their calving grounds on Horse Butte.

Why do the cattlemen feel the need to keep native wildlife off of our public lands in Montana? Why can't wild buffalo be left in peace during their calving season? Why does the Montana Department of Livestock (DOL) insist on wasting millions of our tax dollars every year to play cowboy, chasing down wild bison with horses, ATV's and helicopters? Where exactly are the cattle that they are busy protecting?

Despite these lingering questions, the militarization of the Yellowstone border continues. A helicopter drones overhead today seeking out the handful of fugitive buffalo with the courage to follow their instincts. DOL agents scour the national forests in search of grazing buffalo mothers and their calves. How many government agents does it take to track down less than a dozen buffalo? It's a trick question when you have a fat budget to spend before the buffalo return to the Park in the coming weeks.

The DOL chased seven buffalo mothers and their calves at full speed back into the Park today. Livestock agents also trespassed on private property during today's haze amidst angry local residents. A lone bull buffalo who had been peacefully grazing in the area for days was hazed through private property on Horse Butte without any warning given to the property owners. "Whether it be on ATV's, horseback or helicopter, the fact that the DOL chooses to force the buffalo through a populated area shows a blatant lack of respect for the safety of myself, my neighbors, friends, visitors and tourists alike," said Karrie Taggart of Horse Butte Neighbors of Buffalo. "One day someone is going to get hurt because of this costly, ineffective practice of hazing even though there are no cattle in the Horse Butte area."

And so days spent in peace with wild buffalo have become rare. The other afternoon I was fortunate enough to spend time in a fresh snow watching eight momma buffalo with eight calves on the Madison bluffs near the Park boundary. It was a peaceful, inspiring sight--buffalo grazing intently with watchful eyes, calves jumping around, suckling at their mothers, bounding to catch up with each other. The snow added a layer of quiet to the scene, blanketing all in the white of innocence. But there is no innocence left for the buffalo. If they make it through the harsh winter, they are faced with relentless hazing all spring, confined to Yellowstone Reservation by force, denied access to their calving grounds by the greed of Montana's powerful livestock industry.

We took this message to Helena on Saturday where we had a successful vigil for the buffalo on the lawn of the state capitol. The 278 gravestones were a stark reminder of this season's death toll, of the blood on Montana's hands, of the continued madness of "bison management." Nearly fifty people gathered to pay their respects. Many of the gravestones held press releases recounting the season's slaughter or photos of buffalo being tested, heads locked in clamps and noses held up by pinched rings. There was a mood of solemn prayer as people knelt in front of the
gravestones to read the stories or examine the photos, a surreal metaphorical cemetery to honor those buffalo that lost their lives this season because Montana refuses to tolerate wild buffalo in the state. We formed a circle, passed burning sage around, and told stories about the buffalo, about what we have learned from them, about our visions of a future where buffalo can roam wild and free in Montana. You can view some pictures from the event at: http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo/helenavigil.html. Special thanks to Colin, Dave, and Nancy of the Humane Society of the United States and Patti and Devanie for helping to make the event such a success. And thanks to everyone who came to the vigil and all of you who supported our Week of Action for the Buffalo in your own communities.

As we spend long spring days bearing witness to the continued harassment of the last wild bison in America, it can be hard to maintain perspective. If wild bison are not allowed to roam free in Montana, where can we expect them to roam free? It tests the limits of reason or cynicism. But we are like the buffalo. We face challenges to our survival in all directions. And like the buffalo nation, we will persist. We will continue to resist through our actions until the wild is free. We thank all of you for your actions in defense of the buffalo. It will take all of us to live the dream of wild buffalo roaming free on our public lands. Until that day, I will linger in the bittersweet comforts of spring afternoons spent in the inspiring presence of these mighty buffalo.

For the buffalo,
Ted Fellman
BFC Media

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* Survey Shows Americans Oppose Slaughter of Yellowstone Buffalo

A nationwide survey finds that 75 percent of
Americans disapprove of slaughtering buffalo
wandering outside the boundaries of Yellowstone
National Park. The National Park Service (NPS)
and the Montana Department of Livestock (MDOL)
have killed 278 buffalo this year and hazed and
harassed wild buffalo nearly every day this
spring. The Yellowstone herd is the last
remaining continuously wild, genetically pure
herd of buffalo in the United States.

The survey was commissioned by The Humane Society
of the United States and conducted by Penn,
Schoen and Berland Associates in April 2004. Out
of 900 adults in the United States, 75 percent of
respondents said that they disapproved of the
policy allowing the slaughter, with 59 percent of
those polled indicating that they "strongly
disapprove." An even higher proportion of
respondents oppose the use of federal funds to
implement the program to kill the buffalo. The
poll has a margin of error of ± 3.3 percent.

"It's a travesty that this lethal policy
continues year after year despite such strong
public opposition," said Wayne Pacelle,
CEO-Designate of The Humane Society of the United
States.

Part of the buffalo population in Yellowstone
National Park migrates outside the park
boundaries onto public Forest Service land in
winter and spring in search of better forage and
to escape the deepest snow. During the summer
months, several ranchers also graze their cattle
on nearby private land. With a few cattle
grazing near traditional buffalo migration routes
and calving areas, the MDOL claims that cattle
are at risk of contracting brucellosis, a disease
that may cause spontaneous abortions in cows.

However, as noted by Chuck Clusen, director of
the Natural Resources Defense Council's National
Parks Project, "there has never been a documented
case of brucellosis transmission from wild bison
to domestic cattle." In fact, the risk of such
transmission is negligible.

"Most wild bison that migrate into Montana never
even come close to cattle, and yet they are
hazed, captured and slaughtered," said Ted
Fellman of the Buffalo Field Campaign. "When
people learn that the threat of brucellosis
transmission is exaggerated by the livestock
industry to justify the continued slaughter of
the last wild bison in America, they
overwhelmingly disapprove. It is time to give
voice to that disapproval and stop the slaughter."

The NPS and MDOL are among several federal and
state agencies using a bison management plan that
allows state and federal agencies to haze the
animals back into Yellowstone when they cross the
unmarked boundaries. As the harsh winter weather
drives more buffalo from the interior of the
park, government agents typically switch from
hazing the animals to capturing them. All
buffalo testing positive for antibodies to
brucellosis--a test that does not determine
whether animals are currently infected--are sent
to slaughter. Many of the bison who were sent to
slaughter in the past two springs were not even
tested first. In the past ten years, the NPS and
MDOL have shot or sent to slaughter 2786
Yellowstone buffalo.

The Hinchey-Bass Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation
Act (H.R. 3446) would prohibit state and federal
agency officials from hazing, capturing, or
killing Yellowstone buffalo until certain
conditions have been met. The bill has 101
cosponsors.

The bill is backed by many conservation, animal
protection, and wildlife organizations including
Bear Creek Council, Buffalo Field Campaign,
Defenders of Wildlife, Endangered Species
Coalition, The Fund for Animals, Greater
Yellowstone Coalition, The Humane Society of the
United States, Jackson Hole Conservation
Alliance, National Parks Conservation
Association, Natural Resources Defense Council,
and The Wilderness Society.

----------------------------------

Stop the slaughter of the last wild buffalo in America.
Call your Congressional Representative today!

* Support the Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act

The National Park Service and Montana Department
of Livestock have already killed 277 wild
Yellowstone buffalo this season. The Park
Service has killed nearly 500 wild buffalo inside
Yellowstone National Park in the past two years.
In the past ten years the Montana Department of
Livestock and National Park Service have
slaughtered 2,778 buffalo in and around
Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone buffalo
slaughter is slated to cost taxpayers nearly $3
million a year until 2015.

Please take action today to stop the senseless
slaughter of an American icon. Support efforts
to protect the Yellowstone herd. The Yellowstone
Buffalo Preservation Act (HR 3446) calls for a
three year moratorium on the hazing, capturing
and killing of Yellowstone buffalo; expands the
range that buffalo are allowed to roam; requires
the dismantling of the Stephens Creek Trap inside
Yellowstone National Park; and gives the Park
Service sole jurisdiction over buffalo within the
Park.

Thanks to your efforts, HR 3446 continues to gain
momentum, with 101 House co-sponsors.

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,
give them a call and 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.
It only takes a few minutes to help the buffalo.

A Senate version of the bill will be introduced
soon. Take a minute to contact your Senators and
inform them about this important legislation.
You can contact your Senator by calling the
Capitol Switchboard at 800-839-5276, and asking
to be transferred to his/her office. Or you can
visit
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
to look up your Senator and send them an email.
It only takes a few minutes to help the buffalo.

If you live in Washington State, your help is
especially needed. Senators Maria Cantwell and
Patty Murray are two potential champions.
Contact them today and let them know how you feel
about the Yellowstone buffalo slaughter and the
Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act.

Maria Cantwell
717 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-3441

Senator Patty Murray
173 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-2621

Thank you once again for your support. Together
we will stop the senseless slaughter of America's
last wild buffalo.

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* The Buffalo Field Campaign Needs Your Support

Longtime BFC supporter Melanie Kelley is
auctioning a beautiful and original buffalo
gourd, created and donated by the artist
Shalot, to benefit the work of the Buffalo Field
Campaign. The ebay auction ends Saturday, May
15, 8pm PDT as item #3721965770. Go to:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4174&item=3721965770&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

to make your bid! This is a unique opportunity
to support BFC's field efforts.

What are wild buffalo worth to you? What does it
mean to you to know that your grandchildren will
be able to experience wild places with wild
buffalo roaming free?

Of course these things are priceless. We cannot
put a price on maintaining viable rangeland for
the last wild buffalo in America. But we can put
a price on BFC's efforts to stop the slaughter of
the Yellowstone buffalo. It takes about a dollar
a day to feed a volunteer. That means that if we
have 30 volunteers, it costs just over $30 a day
to feed camp, or about $250 a week. It costs
about $3.50 for a mini-DV tape for our video
cameras. On a hazing day we usually have at
least 5 patrols in the field documenting the
harassment of the last wild buffalo, using about
$17.50 worth of tape. Every VHS tape that we
send to a supporter to show what is happening to
Yellowstone's last wild bison costs us about $1
for the tape.

It costs money to maintain our field presence on
behalf of the buffalo. We are extremely frugal
here in West Yellowstone. We don't have fancy
offices or high paid staff. But we do have
dedicated volunteers working long days to stop
the slaughter of the last wild buffalo in
America. Can we count on you to help by making a
donation? Donations are tax deductible and go
directly to front lines work.

You can make a secure donation online at our
website (http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo) or directly
at:
https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=1807
Or you can send a check to us at:
Buffalo Field Campaign
PO Box 957
West Yellowstone, MT 59758

On a budget -- $1-$15 to keep the videos flowing.
Count on me -- $15-$100 for a day/week of footage.
Big thanks -- $30-$250 to feed BFC volunteers for a day/week.

Thank you once again for your support. Every little bit helps.

----------------------------------

* Call for Summer Outreach Volunteers

As our spring season draws to a close, we are
starting to look ahead to another summer here in
West Yellowstone. As many of you know, the
massive springtime migrations end around late May
or early June, and our daily patrols are no
longer necessary. This is the time of the year
when we focus on outreach, talking with tourists
in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks
about the slaughter of the bison. We are
currently looking for six to eight volunteers
interested is spending a summer at the Campaign.
You can expect to spend three to five days a week
tabling, helping with projects around the cabin
on slower weeks, and hiking, fishing, or whatever
else suits your fancy. In return, all volunteers
receive free room and board, as well as a little
pocket money. A commitment from June 1 until
Labor Day is preferred (with the option to come
earlier and stay later), but if you can only stay
for part of the summer, please apply anyway. All
interested people should send a resume and cover
letter, or contact Chris (our summer
office/volunteer coordinator) directly.
Hope to see you this summer!

With the buffalo,
Chris
buffalo [at] wildrockies.org

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* Last Words

What is life? It is a flash of a firefly in the
night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the
wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs
across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.

Crowfoot's last words (1890) (Blackfoot warrior and orator)
----------------------------------

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


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