Buffalo Field Campaign - Update from the Field - 05/18/06

Buffalo Field Campaign
Update from the Field
May 18, 2006

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In this issue:
* Update from the Field--DOL Helicopter Disrupts Spring
* Thank You for Celebrating Wild Buffalo Mothers!
* Tatanka 2006: Built to Spill Benefit Concert for the Buffalo!
* Warning: APHIS Wants More Control Over Yellowstone Area Wildlife
* Last Words

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* Update from the Field--DOL Helicopter Disrupts Spring

Buffalo Field Campaign Supporters,

Most people who choose to live in the communities surrounding
Yellowstone National Park do so because of the area's natural beauty
and the presence of such charismatic native creatures as bison,
bears, wolves, moose, deer, and elk. This is the only place in
America where the possibility of wild bison migrating through the
yard still exists. And while the public relations manipulators at
Department of Livestock (DOL) headquarters would have us believe that
bison can't coexist with human communities, the truth on the ground
tells another story altogether.

Out on patrol locals visit with stories of buffalo stopping by to
graze in their yards year after year, of their children spending
hours at the window, captivated by the sheer size and presence of a
gentle animal standing six feet tall at the hump, weighing a ton and
that has been eradicated from nearly all of its native range. The
bison are one of the reasons people choose to live here. They are a
species that makes living in West Yellowstone, Montana unlike living
anywhere else in the world.

Last Sunday night, residents of the Bear Trap housing area went to
bed feeling good that there was a group of five bison bulls in the
neighborhood. Some of the locals must have thought those bison were
safe, having posted signs on their fences reading "Bison Safe Zone:
No Shooting or Harassing Wildlife Permitted per Order of the
Landowner." They were wrong.

Imagine the shock of being rudely awakened early on a Monday morning
by the pounding sound of helicopter rotors a few feet above your
rooftop. For residents of the Bear Trap housing area, that's exactly
what happened this week as the Department of Livestock, Montana Fish
Wildlife and Parks, and the National Park Service orchestrated an
all-out attack on the ecosystem in their irrational effort to keep
wild bison out of Montana.

We'd been falsely assured by the governor's office that the DOL
wouldn't be using their helicopter, which disrupts all wildlife, this
spring. When the chopper arrived and began hazing buffalo we called
the governor's office and were told by his policy advisor that the
governor's office and Department of Livestock had agreed that the
helicopter would be used only for spotting, not hazing buffalo.
Later in the day, after we'd gathered hours of footage showing the
helicopter harassing newborn bison calves, their mothers, and bulls,
the governor's office changed its tune to ""The agreement, the
understanding we had was that the helicopter would be used for
spotting and necessary hazing."

As always, BFC patrols were in the field, documenting every action
against the buffalo. We documented the chaos of the helicopter
hazing in the Bear Trap housing area and an intense interaction
between a local resident who doesn't appreciate the DOL's arrogance
and disregard for his property rights. We documented hazing
operations near Red Canyon, Duck Creek, Horse Butte, the north and
south sides of the Madison River, and even within the boundaries of
Yellowstone Park. You can see these images, and the intense
interaction between a local homeowner and the DOL agents, by clicking
on: http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org

For the Buffalo,

the BFC Volunteers

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* Thank You for Celebrating Wild Buffalo Mothers!

A sunny, blue Montana sky greeted us on Mother's Day morning. I
loaded the truck with banners, outreach materials, coffee (thanks
Mountain People's Co-op, Nederland, CO) and cookies (thanks Amber),
and, of course, our giant wooden buffalo proclaiming that "Wild Bison
Are Being Honored Today." Japhy and Amber, both ten and already
veteran BFC volunteers, hung the "Wild Bison Calving Season: Free
Coffee, Free Cookies, Free the Buffalo!" sign. From high in a tree
Japhy yelled, "This is my second ever banner hang!" Amber echoed
from her perch, "This is my first!"

Throughout the course of the day we greeted many local residents and
BFC volunteers, some who brought their families, offering treats and
encouraging a unification of the area in support of the buffalo.
Overwhelmingly, the folks who stopped by enjoy the buffalo in their
yards and in their community. Many expressed dissatisfaction with
the DOL, a theme we continue to encounter as their brutality and
disregard for the rights of private property owners grows.

We saw no buffalo that day; I'm sure the mamas and babies that had
been hazed the past week were resting and recuperating. The
following day, Monday, the helicopter roared in that same blue
Montana sky, running mamas and babies hard. I wonder what those
newborns think of that giant mechanical bird of prey. I admire the
mothers who continue to nurture and bring hope to their offspring.
Mother's Day IS a day for the Wild Bison Mothers. We hope to
celebrate next year with all of you here in the field in West
Yellowstone.

With the Buffalo,
Justine

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* Tatanka 2006: Built to Spill Benefit Concert for the Buffalo!

Join BFC for a rockin' benefit for the wild Buffalo & Buffalo Field
Campaign in Boise, Idaho with Built to Spill, Travis Ward, Junkyard
Bandstand, and Tim Andreae Saturday June, 3rd, $21, Big Easy Concert
House. Tickets go on sale Saturday, May 19.

For more information and to order tickets please visit
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/. Many thanks to Built to Spill
and Ken Cole for making this event possible!

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* Warning: APHIS Wants More Control Over Wildlife

The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is one
of five agencies involved in the Interagency Bison Management Plan.
APHIS is the federal agency responsible for the national brucellosis
eradication program and is solely responsible for designating the
brucellosis status of individual states. All of the funds spent by
the state of Montana to implement the Plan come from APHIS as part of
their annual $9 million brucellosis eradication budget.

The far-fetched goal of APHIS is to completely wipe out brucellosis
from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem which can only be done if
every last creature is killed. Bison, elk, bears and deer are just
a few of our native wildlife species that can carry the cattle-borne
disease brucellosis. It's a horrifying thought to think of this
government agency (agents in white suits) setting up shop inside our
national parks and protected lands - or anywhere in the region, for
that matter - to conduct test-and-slaughter programs on America's
wildlife, against a disease that would naturally wipe itself out if
the bison and elk were allowed to disperse. The article below paints
a frightening picture, especially given the fact that brucellosis
originated in cattle, infected our native wildlife, and that the
wildlife have been set up to take the blame ever since. The federal
government should spend their time and resources focusing on the
disease, not the carriers. We will all need to pay especially close
attention to the evolution of APHIS's plans, and please, contact your
members of Congress to tell them you strongly oppose APHIS having any
more control over our nation's wildlife!

May 7, 2006: Feds aim for more wildlife control, Jackson Hole Star
Tribune (WY)
http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/articles/2006/05/07/news/wyoming/2dade077be29ac698725716600211159.txt

Learn more about APHIS: http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/faq/usdaaphis.html
Learn more about brucellosis:
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/faq/whatisbrucellosis.html
Contact your members of Congress:
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/politicians.html

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* Last Words

"People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad the
whole time to have such things about us."

~ Iris Murdoch

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Media & Outreach
Buffalo Field Campaign
P.O. Box 957
West Yellowstone, MT 59758
406-646-0070
bfc-media at wildrockies.org
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org

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BFC is the only group working in the field every day
to defend the last wild herd of buffalo in America.

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View Video Footage Shot this Week:
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org
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Make a Secure Online Donation to BFC:
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/bisonmerchandise/bisonmerchandise.html
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Join BFC on the Front Lines - Volunteer!
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/aboutus/volunteeringatcamp.html
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Why are they killing the last wild buffalo?
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/issueinbrief.html

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