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Update from the Field:
Department of Livestock Continues Relentless Hazing
Our patrols have been bearing witness to the incessant
hazing that plagues every buffalo that steps foot outside
Yellowstone National Park. As I write this, Department
of Livestock (DOL) agents are hazing six buffalo that
were grazing peacefully near Duck Creek deep into Yellowstone's
interior.
All this unnecessary hazing leaves the Montana lands
near the boundary eerily empty. Buffalo tracks, scat,
and hair adorn the landscape yet not a single buffalo
can be found. To those of us who live and work near
the park border, the forced absence of buffalo from
their native lands brings great sadness. Hikes that
should yield experiences in the presence of buffalo
babies, calves, and adults feel incomplete. Rather than
celebrate its unique position as one of the only states
with truly wild buffalo, Montana irrationally insists
on excluding buffalo from its lands.
Our field season is winding down and we are making preparations
for summer and a shift in focus from daily patrols to
informational tabling in Yellowstone and Grand Teton
National Parks. While things in the field are quieting
down, there has been a flurry of activity in the areas
of policy, legislation, education, and outreach. Below
you will find relevant updates.
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* BFC Attends Interagency Brucellosis Committee
(GYIBC) Meeting
On Tuesday and Wednesday we attended the meeting of
the Greater Yellowstone Interagency Brucellosis Committee.
The GYIBC consists of representatives from Idaho, Wyoming
and Montana wildlife and livestock agencies and all
of the federal agencies involved with brucellosis issues
in the greater Yellowstone area (GYA). In addition to
the regular GYIBC agenda, a four-hour panel "discussion"
on Wyoming elk feedgrounds concluded the second day
of meetings.
Unfortunately, with each meeting of the GYIBC, the prospects
for the future of Yellowstone buffalo and the wildlife
of the GYA in general get more and more dire. The "lowlights"
of this weeks meetings included reports on the upcoming
program for large-scale vaccination of Yellowstone buffalo
by the Park Service and the Montana Department of Livestock
and the upcoming buffalo "hunt" in Montana.
Also included was a report on a project to quarantine
Yellowstone buffalo for at least four years with the
goal of relocating them to other public and tribal lands.
Look for updates and public comment information on the
release of the various environmental documents related
to these attempts to further weaken and mistreat Yellowstone
buffalo. Your comments are essential to building a framework
for challenging these misguided plans.
For a more detailed account of the specifics of the
meeting, please click here:
http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo/gyibc.html
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* The Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act Gains
Momentum
HR 3446 continues to gain cosponsors in the U.S. House
of Representatives and companion Senate legislation
will be introduced in the coming weeks. For more information
and to view a list of the 103 cosponsors, please click
here: http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo/politico/3446.html
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* Hawaiian Legislature Takes Action to Protect
Yellowstone Buffalo; BFC to Visit Hawaii
The government of Hawaii recently passed Resolution
#149, "Urging Hawaii's congressional delegation
to help prevent the inhumane treatment of the Yellowstone
buffalo and support passage of the Yellowstone Buffalo
Preservation Act, H.R. 3446." To read the legislation,
which specifically mentions the efforts of the Buffalo
Field Campaign, please click here: http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo/hawaii.html
If you live in Hawaii, please contact State Representative
Marcus Oshiro and thank him for his efforts on behalf
of the Yellowstone buffalo. You can contact his office
at:
Hawaii State Capitol, Room 439
415 South Beretania Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
phone 808-586-8505; fax 808-586-8509
email: repmoshiro@capitol.hawaii.gov
BFC Coordinator Mike Mease will be on the big island
from June 21 -23, and is interested in setting up video
presentations on the plight of Yellowstone buffalo and
the work of the BFC. If you would like to help organize
a presentation or would like more information on his
visit, please email him at: mease@wildrockies.org.
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* Blackfeet School Visits BFC
We'd like to express a special thanks to the De La Salle
Blackfeet School who visited with us yesterday to talk
about the Yellowstone buffalo and to share with us their
amazing Wintercount art project on Blackfeet culture
and history. 17 students visited our camp near West
Yellowstone and accompanied us in the field. The students
witnessed firsthand buffalo grazing in the park near
the Duck Creek buffalo trap and experienced the beauty
of the Horse Butte Peninsula and Yellowstone National
Park. In the early evening they returned to our cabin
for dinner and to share their art project with us.
Created in the spirit of traditional Blackfeet Wintercounts,
which recorded historical events in a series of graphic
depictions painted in a spiral on a buffalo hide, the
project detailed significant events in the lives and
traditions of the Blackfeet. Most moving was the live
narration, and the strength and clarity with which the
children shared the stories of their people.
We were very inspired by your visit.
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* BFC's Annual Newsletter Nears Completion
We are in the final stages of editing our annual newsletter
and are in need of short anecdotes from supporters and
past volunteers. Tell us how you were called to care
for the buffalo, what they mean to you, what you think
of the efforts of the Buffalo Field Campaign, or anything
else you'd like. Reply to this email or send your thoughts
to bfc-media@wildrockies.org.
Send us your address if you don't already receive our
newsletter or if you'd like us to mail you a bundle
for distribution in your community. Printing and distributing
our newsletter is one of the Campaign's heaviest expenses.
You can help us cover the costs of getting the information
out with a tax-deductible contribution to the Buffalo
Field Campaign.
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* Last Words
"The Yellowstone herd is the genetic wellspring
of the Buffalo Nation. There are 48 million cows and
they don't seem to be in any danger, but there are not
enough buffalo. I'm here in support of the BFC and their
work to protect Yellowstone buffalo."
--Winona LaDuke
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Buffalo Field Campaign
PO Box 957
West Yellowstone, MT 59758
www.wildrockies.org/buffalo
buffalo@wildrockies.org
(406) 646-0070
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