| Yellowstone Bison Slaughter
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| News
Article 5/05/05 |
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| Bison
good, journalist bad
Letter to the Editor, Missoula Independent
5/05/05 |
Your despair is showing through your journalism.
The shrugging shoulders and hopelessness that came through
your last bit of coverage on the senseless slaughter of
America’s last wild buffalo (see Mountain High,
April 14, 2005) can be remedied with the courage to ask
the right questions and demand answers. Good journalists
do not become apathetic and encourage their readers to
follow. Good journalists help resolve issues. Good journalists
help uncover the truth and, as you briefly listed in your
article, the truth is clearly on the buffalo’s side.
It is no secret that the Buffalo Field Campaign advocates
for the buffalo. We’ve been doing so for nearly
a decade. If our press releases and front lines reporting
are “highly emotional” it is because we are
here on the front lines, and government and livestock
industry bombs are exploding all around. BFC is bearing
witness to the destruction of the last wild buffalo and
the land they should be able to call home. BFC volunteers
continue to give all they’ve got and then some;
we never give up because we know, hope, and pray the truth
will be revealed; we know, hope and pray that SOME media
organization will actually tell the story that sets the
buffalo free. BFC is out on the front lines reporting
what we see first-hand, and we are here because you won’t
or can’t be. We are here making your job easier.
Where are you? It is bad enough that corporate-owned media
has decided to print what partial-truths they are told
to print. But where is the coverage from independent media
like, well, the Independent?
What “The Plan” lays out is not set in stone.
It is not the end-all-be-all for the buffalo. Not unless
the people give up. You have suggested they do as much.
Yet, there are many ugly “legal” details carried
out by participants in “The Plan” which you
are refusing to reveal. That’s too bad, because
good journalism—coupled with citizen participation—can
change the status quo. Slavery was once “legal.”
Segregation was once “legal.” Refusing a male
Indian food unless he cut off his hair was once “legal.”
Not allowing women or anyone other than white males to
vote was once “legal.”
If reporting on the last wild buffalo is like “beating
a dead horse,” then that’s because you aren’t
doing your job as a journalist. You’re not asking
the tough questions. Some offered suggestions for “news
hooks” that might hold enough sensationalism to
pique your curiosity include (but are not limited to):
cruel and inhumane treatment, scientific experiments conducted
on baby buffalo, hazing pregnant buffalo mothers, destruction
of buffalo families, degradation of this unique gene pool,
the cowboy mafia, waste of taxpayer money, public dis-Service
of participating federal agencies, DOL endangering motorists,
false tests, destruction of our federal lands, vaginal
telemetry, radio collars, tags, livestock inspectors calling
all the shots, public officials ignoring public opinion,
ineffective livestock vaccinations administered to wildlife,
effects on tourism, the lack of better cattle management,
the oxymoronic management of wildlife, rape and domestication
of the wild, public lands (welfare) ranching, the shrinking
right to bear witness to taxpayer-funded madness, abusive
cop behavior, false arrests, lack of science to back any
of this up, what does it really mean to lose your brucellosis-free
status?…the list goes on.
If that’s too dreary, you could spin the more positive
aspects: Wild buffalo can help restore our native grassland
ecosystems. Habitat for wild buffalo in Montana could
allow for a more “ethical” hunt in the future.
Wild buffalo in Montana could boost the tourism economy.
Governor Schweitzer wants “a new Montana”—let
that start with Montana being the first state in the nation
to honor a wild herd of buffalo. Let the “new Montana”
be one that welcomes and boasts wild, free-roaming buffalo!
You could talk about the phenomena of buffalo migration:
Montana is now the only state in the nation that the last
wild buffalo migrate into; they’ve chosen Horse
Butte, land once used by their ancestors, as their birthing
grounds—to many, this defines Horse Butte as a sacred
site. Yet, right now, due in large part to caving federal
agencies, false information, apathetic media and yawning
journalists not demanding the right answers, the state’s
livestock industry is holding all the power and refusing
wild buffalo entry into Montana. This can also change.
The media has the power—and the duty—to report
the truth, reveal the facts, uncover what is veiled from
the public, find answers to all the unanswered questions,
and give people the power to put that knowledge to good
use. Change the status quo. We’re tossing you the
ball—catch it, run with it.
You write that “all involved parties” consider
the Interagency Bison Management Plan “less than
ideal.” Indeed! “Ideal” for the state
and federal agencies involved—along with the stockgrowers
whose bidding these taxpayer-funded agencies are doing—would
include a fence around Yellowstone, or maybe a landscape
entirely devoid of wild buffalo and also elk. Nothing
but cattle as far as the eye can see. Now they are pushing
to create a “disease-free” herd by placing
wild baby buffalo in prison for the next five years. Why
don’t we all just encourage folks to sit back and
watch that happen, since it’s just going to happen
anyway. Yawn.
What about the tribal voice? Why not enter the community
you live in and ask the Native people what they think
about the slaughter of the sacred buffalo, and how they
feel about being completely shut out of any management
decisions. Ask them how they feel about being either utterly
ignored, used, or given an ultimatum of “slaughter
or domestication.” Here’s something that could
use some good journalistic digging: what “tribal
organizations” are the Department of Livestock donating
the heads, hides and meat to?
There’s a lot to uncover here. Do some digging and
ask some good questions. Come (back) to West Yellowstone
and demand answers from the law enforcement officers,
government officials and livestock inspectors who are
trying to domesticate the last wild buffalo. Wake up!
This is it: the Yellowstone herd is the last continuously
wild herd of buffalo left in the country!
Dan Brister so eloquently summed it up for all Missoula-area
folks at the talk on April 18 (which, thanks to you, no
one was encouraged to attend): “You can look back
on your life and say, ‘What was I doing in Missoula
when they were killing the last wild buffalo?’ or,
you can come to West Yellowstone and stand in their defense.”
The choice is yours.
Editor’s note: The Independent did indeed announce
Dan Brister’s April 18 presentation. It was the
impetus for the offending coverage.
Stephany J. Seay - Buffalo Field Campaign
West Yellowstone
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