| Yellowstone Bison Slaughter
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| Weekly
Update from the Field August 13, 2009 |
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Update from the Field
* Obama Sign-On Letter
* Update: Stockgrowers Lawsuit Against Wild Bison
* Quarantined Buffalo: Tribe, Zoo, Group May Want Them
* Join BFC for Wood Cut Week Sept. 14-20
* BFC Needs Two On-Demand Hot Water Heaters
* Last Words
* Kill Tally
* Important Links
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*
Update from the Field
On August 5 a bull buffalo was shot and killed after migrating
from Yellowstone's interior through a corner of southwest
Montana and into Idaho. You
can read BFC's press release here. This marks another
natural effort by buffalo to restore themselves in their
historic native range of Idaho, only to be abruptly halted
by government bullets.
This time it was not Idaho Fish & Game who killed
the buffalo, but USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) officials. APHIS is a participant in the
Interagency Bison Management Plan, and also one of the
agencies spearheading the bison quarantine feasibility
study (see below for an update). Apparently APHIS was
in the area inspecting captive elk at a facility that
operates canned elk hunting. The APHIS official fired
three shots from a 30.06 rifle to kill the buffalo. BFC
was there to witness and document the incident, and to
our knowledge, the bull never mingled with cattle.
The theoretical threat of brucellosis transmission from
wild bison to cattle is the continued excuse used by the
government and cattle industry to prevent wild bison from
gaining any ground outside of Yellowstone National Park's
boundaries even though there has never been a documented
case of wild bison transmitting the disease to cattle.
Furthermore, the National Academy of Science states that
bull bison pose virtually no brucellosis risk to cattle.
And if brucellosis is such a dreaded disease, why then
does the government so willingly give the meat of the
buffalo they kill to tribal charities and food banks,
as they did with the remains of this bull? Brucellosis
is not the threat, but the excuse used to maintain control;
what the cattle industry really fears is wild bison restoring
themselves to their native range and eating the grass
the cattle industry feels is for their cattle only. Idaho
already has laws in place that prevent the migration of
wild bison into its borders, effectively staunching any
natural restoration efforts before they begin. The land
continues to suffer with the absence of buffalo, but not
for lack of buffalo trying.
Meanwhile, the agencies implementing the Interagency Bison
Management Plan met in Helena this week for another round
of "public" meetings, where the public gets
to sit in the audience while the talking heads shuffle
paperwork and decide the fate of America's last wild bison.
The agencies are due to make a report to Congress in response
to the scathing Government
Accountability Office's report that slammed the IBMP
and called on the agencies to scrap it or make some real
progress. So far, the agencies have held meeting after
meeting with very little, if any, positive, on-the-ground
change. Now the agencies are saying that to prevent future
large-scale slaughtering of bison, they will haze bison
more aggressively this coming season. Here's
a brief news story.
These government officials want to keep the focus off
of the real solution: HABITAT. If left unchecked and unquestioned,
they will repeat their rhetoric and mismanagement actions,
wasting millions of U.S. tax dollars and harming wildlife
and wild lands until America's last wild bison have been
hazed, captured, shot, quarantined and killed to the point
of genetic dysfunction, behavioral manipulation, wild
integrity compromised; buffalo families harassed and annihilated
to the point of no return.
Only outside-the-box action will bring positive change
for wild bison; outside the box that is Yellowstone: HABITAT.
President
Obama has the authority to move the agencies outside
the confines of current thinking; he has the power to
force the agencies to give the buffalo a fighting chance
and he's on his way to Yellowstone now and he needs to
hear from you!
SEND
AN EMAIL TO PRESIDENT OBAMA. It doesn't matter if
you've already done so (but, thank you!) because you can
edit the letter to give it that critical, personal touch
reflecting current news and information. Please spread
the word to help defend the herds!
Roam Free!
~Stephany
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* Obama Sign-On Letter
In addition to the more than 3,235 emails that you have
already sent to President Obama through BFC's Take Action
Center, we have been working with Native American tribes,
businesses, and organizations on a sign-on letter we will
send to the President in the fall.
We will begin circulating this letter early next week
and, in order to make sure the effort is as successful
as possible, will need your help. If you are part of a
group, business, or tribe that might like to join us in
asking President Obama to protect America's only continuously
wild population of bison, please contact BFC Executive
Director Dan Brister at bfc@wildrockies.org.
Dan will then contact you with a copy of the letter.
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* Update: Stockgrowers Lawsuit Against Wild Bison
On August 4 Montana District Court Judge John Brown presided
over oral arguments in a state lawsuit on the fate of
wild bison in Montana.
Attorney John Bloomquist representing Sitz Angus Ranch,
Bill Myers and the Montana Stockgrowers Association filed
suit against the Montana Department of Livestock claiming
that the Interagency Bison Management Plan obligates all
wild bison "be returned" to Yellowstone National
Park "no later than May 15 of each year."
The two ranchers who truck cattle in to graze seasonally
on leased private pastures are seeking a court order compelling
the slaughter or forced removal of wild bison in the entire
Hebgen Basin, an area that encompasses tens of thousands
of acres of bison habitat including Horse Butte Peninsula
where cattle no longer graze.
Earthjustice attorney Tim Preso, representing local Horse
Butte residents, argued there is no "legal duty"
for the State of Montana to kill or remove bison by May
15 every year who have roamed to range outside Yellowstone
National Park. To
download legal filings click here.
Locals who intervened in the rancher's suit want wild
bison to roam on places like Horse Butte without government
harassment. The locals rightfully claim that their private
property interest in allowing wild bison to be in their
neighborhood is not represented, and that Montana livestock
agents trespass and intrude where they are not wanted.
"The majority of Horse Butte is public land. The
National Forest Service has a responsibility to manage
it for wildlife. We encourage them to do so," says
Horse Butte resident Karrie Taggart, who also heads up
Horse Butte Neighbors of Buffalo. "Since cattle no
longer graze there it stands to reason that bison should
be allowed room to roam."
The nonprofit lawyers argue the bison plan is adaptive
and Montana law is permissive in how bison can be managed.
They were joined by Assistant Attorney General Norman
Peterson, representing the Board of Livestock, who asked
the court to dismiss the suit as the ranchers lack standing
to sue and are not a party to the bison plan.
It is unknown when Judge Brown will rule. But stay tuned
as the fate of wild bison to occupy habitat year-round
in Montana hangs in the balance of his decision.
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* Quarantined Buffalo: Tribe, Zoo, Group May Want
Them
The unfortunate quarantined buffalo who were ultimately
rejected by Northern Arapaho tribal officials may have
found some folks who want them, though in some cases their
existence will be behind bars. These buffalo, now numbering
nearly 50 animals, have been confined to an ill-conceived
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and USDA Animal &
Plant Health Inspection Service quarantine feasibility
study since 2005. The buffalo were calves when they and
their families were captured after migrating towards Yellowstone's
boundary. The adults went to slaughter, while the calves
grew up in small fenced enclosures, being treated like
livestock, in a government experiment to "create
a disease-free herd" with a goal of providing "seed
stock" for bison restoration efforts. But, the bull
that was shot in Idaho last week (see above) and the hundreds
of bison that attempt to migrate into Montana every year
are enacting real buffalo restoration, yet the same agencies
spend millions of U.S. tax dollars each year to prevent
their success. Migration corridors to habitat, not quarantine,
will be the real road to bison restoration. Read
the news story about the latest on the quarantined
buffalo.
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* Mark Your Calendars: Wood Cut Week, Sept. 14-20
Join Buffalo Field Campaign in beautiful West Yellowstone
during the week of September 14-20, and help gather, stack,
and cut the wood that will keep volunteers warm and alive
this coming field season. Room and board will be provided.
Please contact Mike at mease@wildrockies.org
or 406-646-0070 if you are interested. Please let your
friends know - the more the merrier!
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* BFC Volunteer Cabin Needs Two On-Demand Hot
Water Heaters
The BFC main cabin, which houses our volunteers, is in
need of two on-demand hot water heaters in order to save
energy and space. These energy efficient water heaters
could shave 25% off our gas bill each month and will free
up much-needed space in our crowded cabin.
If you can help, please
make a secure online donation and specify that it
is for the water heaters, or send a check or money order
(no cash please) to BFC-Maintenance, P.O. Box 957, West
Yellowstone, MT 59758. If you have questions or would
like more detail, please contact BFC Maintenance Coordinator
Chip at 406-646-0070 or by email at maintenance@buffalofieldcampaign.org.
Thank you!!
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* Last Words
To a Buffalo Skull
"On the sable wall your great skull gleams,
A regal ornament;
A relic of weathered bone and horn,
Once lord of a continent.
The war-lord, yea, of a countless host,
But gone is your kingly sway;
For never again will you head the herd
In the spring when the young calves play.
All bleached with the merciless sun and rain
Of many and many a day,
You're all that is left to tell the tale
How the black lines passed this way."
~ Robert V. Carr
Do you have something that we could use for Last Words?
Something you've written, or a favorite piece by some
other author, famous or as yet unknown? A quote, poem,
song, story, a few lines, a paragraph, any words you feel
are fitting to tell in these chapters of the buffalo's
story? If so, please send them to Stephany at bfc-media@wildrockies.org.
Thanks!
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* Kill Tally
AMERICAN BISON ELIMINATED from the last wild population
in the U.S.
2008-2009 Total: 23
2008-2009 Slaughter: 3
2008-2009 Hunt: 1
2008-2009 Quarantine: 0
2008-2009 Shot by Agents: 3
2008-2009 Highway Mortality: 16
2007-2008 Total: 1,632
Total Since 2000: 3,703*
*includes lethal government action, quarantine, hunts,
highway mortalities |
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Media & Outreach
Buffalo Field Campaign
P.O. Box 957
West Yellowstone, MT 59758
406-646-0070
bfc-media@wildrockies.org
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org
BFC is the only group working in the field every day
in defense of the last wild buffalo population in the
U.S.
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