| A
Vision of Hope for the Future
In the midst of increasing threats to the health and
survival of the Yellowstone buffalo herd, there are
shimmering rays of light that point to a bright future
for the remaining continuously wild and free buffalo.
Upon the dawning of 2004, we wish to respectfully offer
a vision of the future for our sacred brothers and sisters.
It
begins as two dedicated buffalo defenders gear up for
a long ski and hike. They follow the migratory path
created by buffalo searching for winter range north
and west of Yellowstone National Park. The journey takes
them west along the Madison river into the great open
known as the Madison valley. The buffalo
follow a path along the river with detours into the
broad sagebrush prairie. They stop here and there to
eat the accessible grass that they can't find in the
high elevations of the Park. Many groups
of buffalo ranging in number from thirty to fifty are
spread throughout the valley on different stages of
their newly defined path.
One group of forty or so buffalo checks out
a new fence line, walking along it to discover a way
through. The fence is over six feet tall and well anchored
in the ground. Its purpose is to keep the buffalo off
private land used for livestock production. The owner
of the ranch is well known for striking a deal to allow
buffalo to pass through his land. Various
conservation groups agreed to supply a buffalo proof
fence that was installed by local contractors.
The buffalo, unable to go through, patiently walk the
fence line until coming to a narrow swath provided to
give them access to more friendly pastures.
Some landowners further along the path have established
conservation easements providing safe refuge and winter
range for buffalo and other native wildlife.
A horse and buggy head toward buffalo grazing peacefully
in the sagebrush prairie. The buggy carries a family
who have come from their far away home to the only place
outside of a national park where pure wild buffalo roam
freely. The family was exited and lured to the Madison
valley when they learned of a guest ranch that offers
horse and buggy tours where it is common to see herds
of wild buffalo and elk, eagles soaring in the big sky,
and glimpses of wolves stalking their traditional prey.
The buggy stops at a distance from the buffalo and the
family and their guide sit down to a picnic lunch in
the early afternoon sun. Buffalo are
now embraced in the region as assets to be protected
and promoted...
The buffalo continue on their way north undisturbed
by the day's visitors. A bend in the river brings their
path close to the highway. On the other side of the
road are wide-open pastures on an old ranch. The ranch
owner is delighted at the prospect of wild buffalo once
again inhabiting their native range. The buffalo cross
the highway through an underpass that connects to the
other side while a car passes safely overhead. The underpass
is modeled after similar efforts in northern Montana
and Canada to provide protection for bears crossing
roads. This ingenious plan to create
wildlife migration corridor underpasses across roads
for bison has now been brought to the Madison valley.
Local road crews were hired for the construction.
Buffalo quickly began to use the safe passageways connecting
their path.
After a period of grazing and resting, the
buffalo continue on their journey rediscovering their
traditional migratory routes. Returning to the river,
the buffalo eventually come to a modest subdivision.
A few buffalo find a tasty patch of grass in one of
the yards and some nice deck posts to rub on. A woman
who doesn't want the buffalo in her yard bangs on a
kitchen pot with a spoon and tells them to leave. The
buffalo give her a quick look and turn to find friendlier
pastures. A man comes out to find buffalo in his yard
as well. He quickly goes back inside to get his wife
and kids. The family watches with an
overjoyed look that expresses why they chose to live
in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, the only place
where wild buffalo roam free. After a while,
the buffalo regroup and continue on their journey.
Deeply imbedded ancient memories lead the buffalo
westward to the Big Hole. The Big Hole is the gateway
to millions of acres of wilderness along the Montana
and Idaho border. Here the buffalo
find nearly limitless access to forage thus insuring
their continued survival and re-establishing a keystone
element of the historic western landscape.
Feeling deeply moved as witnesses of a lost past regained
and a future of endless possibilities, the two long
time buffalo defenders return home reflecting on the
long struggle that led to this magical day...
Make the vision a reality
The Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act, H.R. 3446,
is the first step toward realizing a future of truly
wild and free buffalo herds once again roaming the western
landscape. The bill calls for a three year moratorium
on the hazing, capturing and killing of Yellowstone
bison. It expands the boundary in which bison will be
allowed undisturbed access on both the west and north
sides of the Park. The bill also requires the dismantling
of the Stephen's Creek Capture Facility located inside
Yellowstone National Park and re-establishes the Park
Service as having sole jurisdiction over bison within
the Park.
The bill is currently sitting in the House Resources
Committee waiting for enough co-sponsors to call for
hearings. We currently have 26 co-sponsors signed on
to the bill. Please check to see if your representative
is a co-sponsor.
If they have not already joined in defense of the
last wild buffalo, please encourage them to do so by
calling or sending an e-mail. Also, letters to the editor
in your local paper are a good way to encourage support
for the bill and to spread the word.
Dream
Back the Bison - Sing Back the Swan!
MDoL once again wastes our tax-dollars
On Tuesday, December 30, a single bull bison was hazed
back into Yellowstone National Park. He had been grazing
peacefully in the Gallatin National Forest near Cougar
Creek within sight of Highway 191 for the past several
days. A local MDoL agent, Shane Grube, chased the buffalo
through fresh snow more than two feet deep. This is the
third time that MDoL agents have hazed this same buffalo
from this location. Unfortunately, if the bull returns
to his favorite spot, he will likely be captured or shot
by the State of Montana.
We call the bull Curly because of his unique hairdo. During
the last week, he was witness to the killing of an elk
calf by a pack of wolves just yards away from him near
the border of the park. Curly then moved out to his spot
near the highway where he listened to the constant din
of passing vehicles and snowmobiles. In the vicinity,
we have regularly seen a moose and her calf that we call
momma and baby white socks. On all occasions that the
MDoL has hazed Curly, momma and baby white socks have
been disturbed as well.
Bull bison do not have the biological capability to transmit
brucellosis. The nearest cattle at this time of year are
over 45 miles away near Ennis, Montana. Buffalo spend
the green months storing crucial energy reserves in the
form of stored fat that must last them throughout the
long winter. By running buffalo through deep snow in the
dead of winter, the MDoL severely compromise their ability
to retain adequate energy reserves to survive the harsh
climate. In addition, lead bulls like Curly are significant
to the breeding population. Killing or weakening these
buffalo jeopardizes the genetic integrity and future health
of the herd.
"How is this going to save a single beef cow from
getting brucellosis? Why does anyone think that this is
a productive way to spend our hard earned tax dollars?
When was the last time someone volunteered for or willingly
gave money to the Montana Department of Livestock for
the hazing and capturing of bison on public land?"
asked Ken Cole, a BFC volunteer.
Urgent:
Comments Due on Bison Vaccination EA by January 5
The
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has
recently released an Environmental Assessment (EA) regarding
its intrusive and unnecessary plans to vaccinate members
of the Yellowstone herd with RB51, a livestock vaccine
that has been demonstrated to be ineffective in buffalo.
Under the proposed plan, yearlings and calves who leave
the park will be vaccinated.
The USDA has already determined that no significant
impacts will result from this intrusive government action,
but you still have time to comment. A copy of the Finding
of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and EA can be found
on the Internet at: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/es/vsdocs.html
or you you can request copies of the EA and FONSI by
email at: regulations@aphis.usda.gov
Because
the public comment period is so short (comments must
be submitted by January 5, 2004) it is imperative that
buffalo supporters from around the world rally today
and write letters.
Write to APHIS and ask them to choose the no action
alternative.
To assist you in preparing comments we have compiled
the following list of talking points:
Talking Points:
1. The Yellowstone herd is a cultural and biological
treasure, being the only herd to continuously occupy
its native range in the wild. Vaccines, including RB51,
are a tool designed for use in livestock, not wildlife.
Rather than focusing on Yellowstone's wild bison, efforts
should be directed at cattle herds. The process of subcutaneously
injecting yearlings and new-born calves with the RB51
strain of brucellosis--and the attendant stress such
procedures will have on the animals--will further erode
the wildness of the Yellowstone herd at a tremendous
cost.
2. The EA ignores the latest science to hide the
fact that the RB51 vaccine is not effective in bison.
According to a recent peer-reviewed study*, "It
was determined that RB51 did not confer significant
protection in the vaccinated animals. In terms of abortions
and infections, the RB51 bison vaccinated with three
injections did not differ significantly from the non-vaccinated
bison..."
The authors of the EA admit as much on page 9 when
they write, "efficacy [of RB51] in bison has not
been definitively determined."
*Davis, D.S. and Elzer, P.H., 2002, Brucella Vaccines
in Wildlife, Veterinary Microbiology (90):533-544.
3. The vaccination of buffalo outside the park with
an ineffective vaccine will not eliminate brucellosis
from the herd. Because the disease has little effect
on buffalo and because wild buffalo have never transmitted
brucellosis to livestock, efforts should be focused
on cattle.
4. Bison yearlings and calves are generally only
present outside the western boundary of Yellowstone
in the spring during calving season. The EA does not
discuss the efficacy or impacts of vaccinating newly
born bison within hours, days or weeks of birth. Neither
does the EA address the impact of capturing newborn
calves, vaccinating them, and releasing them without
their mothers.
5. The EA fails to adequately address the proposal's
impact on Native Americans, who have an age-old and
complex relationship with buffalo. Many Native American
individuals and organizations consider the buffalo as
kin, and find the repeated capturing, testing, vaccinating,
and tagging of bison unacceptable. Such intrusive measures
affect the sacredness of buffalo by treating them as
livestock.
6. Yellowstone buffalo are not domestic animals.
Because neither APHIS nor Montana Department of Livestock
personnel are trained in wildlife management, they have
no place meddling with the fate of the Yellowstone herd
and eroding their wildness through vaccination.
Comments may be sent through the postal service or email.
If you submit them through the mail, please send four
copies (an original and three copies) to:
Docket No. 03-112-1
Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD
APHIS, Station 3C71
4700 River Road, Unit 118
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.
Please
state in the body of your comments that they refer to
Docket No. 03-112-1.
If you email your comments, send them to <regulations@aphis.usda.gov>.
Comments must be contained in the body of your message;
do not send attached files. Include your name and address
in your message and "Docket No. 03-112-1"
in the subject line.
BFC Wish List
"Moosewood Restaurant Cooks for a Crowd"
by Molly Katzan
Large French Press
mini DV Video tapes
Last Words
Many make resolutions for the new year. Please consider
resolving to take at least one action a month for the
buffalo. Send a letter or make a phone call to the decision
makers, host a video showing, talk to a friend or group
about the issue - Together we will make a difference!
Please enjoy these words from one of our great supporters
Paul Clark. Paul & Tina - thanks for speaking out
for the buffalo!
From " River of Darkness"
"I pray to the spirit of thunder
And again to the wild restless wind
I want that the herds of our buffalo lost
Will walk in our valleys again"
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