| BFC Buffalo Field Campaign
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| Voices
from the Community |
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Horse
Butte Resident
My name is Linda Heyes and I currently reside on Horse Butte,
a subdivision north of West Yellowstone.
Because it was a beautiful day yesterday, I decided to ride
my bicycle to the intersection of Highway 287 and Rainbow Point
Road which is approximately five miles east of my residence.
I was looking forward to enjoying the quiet, solitude and beauty
of a wonderful spring day. However, within minutes of climbing
on the bicycle, I heard a helicopter coming in from the west.
Almost simultaneously I saw one bull bison heading into the
trees. The helicopter hovered above the trees, I think, in the
hope of locating the bison for at least ten-fifteen minutes.
Five miles down the road at the intersection of Highway 287
and Rainbow Point Road, I noticed a County Sheriff's vehicle
parked. Since I was informed Department of Livestock would again
resume bison hazing operations on May 15, 2006 and since I have
resided on Horse Butte for seven years and, in that time, have
only seen helicopters from the DOL fly over my property in hazing
operations, I believe the helicopter was associated with the
State. In fact, in the past helicopters from DOL have flown
so close to the ground on our property, we could read the ID
numbers on the copter and see the pilot's faces.
On my return trip back to Horse Butte, the helicopter was on
the south side of the road, maybe 50 ft in at tree top level.
The noise was unbelievably loud
and, quite frankly, I wondered if the pilot was taking unsafe
chances by being as low as he/she was.
Several thoughts occurred to me while looking up at the source
of this unmitigated din. First, it is my understanding the hazing
is being done to protect cattle from contacting brucellosis.
THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO CATTLE ON HORSE BUTTE and, since the
Mundt ranch has been purchased to a developer, it appears unlikely
cattle will return to the area. Although the focus of hazing
is buffalo, many other wildlife species are being unnecessarily
impacted by this action. Among those include moose, elk, deer,
eagles, osprey, great-horned owls, sand hill cranes, etc. In
addition, I was concerned for my personal safety when I saw
the helicopter hovering to the south. Because there is dense
lodge pole growth in this area, I was unable to see if any buffalo
were being hazed toward the road, ergo toward me.
Finally it seems blatantly wasteful to be spending my tax dollars
on fuel, equipment, and staff to fund a hazing exercise of buffalo
under the guise of protecting nonexistent cattle. I would welcome
a response from either you or Governor Schweitzer on this matter.
Linda Heyes
PO Box 1002
West Yellowstone, MT 59758 |
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