| BFC Buffalo Field Campaign
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| Voices
from the Community |
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Letter
to the editor, Stephany Seay 04/13/07:
The community's joy in the buffalo's annual spring migration
evaporates memories of the lonely winter where every buffalo
who entered this side of Montana was killed in Montana's "hunt."
Anyone driving Hwy 191 between West Yellowstone and Fir Ridge
has likely seen Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) patrols facilitating
highway crossings for buffalo heading to Horse Butte and preventing
untold bison-vehicle collisions.
The buffalo's amazing migration happens every year and is doggedly
interrupted, not just by the highway, but by politics that place
the interests of imported cattle above the needs of native bison.
Unfortunately, Department of Livestock (DOL) hazing operations
have resumed, dangerously disrupting natural migration. Buffalo
follow instincts, not politics. This week, immediately following
DOL hazing activity, hundreds of buffalo resumed their migration,
re-crossed the highway, and returned to Horse Butte. DOL's actions
create a serious safety hazard by forcing buffalo to repeatedly
cross the highway.
Your tax dollars are being grossly misused by the DOL to harass
and kill wild buffalo. Agents chase buffalo off of public lands
habitat, forcing them across the ecologically meaningless borders
of Yellowstone. Sadly, capture, slaughter, and quarantine are
also possible.
Sentiment around town demonstrates that people are tired of
DOL's antics. Congress has taken notice of bison mismanagement
and is taking action to gain the buffalo more ground. Please
contact Senators Tester and Baucus and urge them to support
the buffalo's right to migrate into Montana. And take a moment
to remind Governor Schweitzer of his campaign promises to provide
"more tolerance" for buffalo, and his statements that
DOL is "ill-equipped" to manage bison.
We are blessed to live in the presence of the last wild buffalo.
With such a blessing comes the responsibility that we speak
our hearts and minds and act in defense of the buffalo and their
native landscape.
Stephany J. Seay
Buffalo Field Campaign
West Yellowstone, Montana |
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