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BFC Needs Your Financial Support
The Buffalo Field Campaign has been on the front-lines
since 1997, documenting every action taken against the
buffalo and fighting tirelessly against the unjustified
harassment and slaughter of the last truly wild buffalo.
This first-hand experience has placed us at the forefront
of legal, legislative, policy, and grassroots solutions
that will lead to the buffalo's long-term protection.
BFC coordinators put in hundreds of hours every week,
scouring agency documents, reviewing scientific studies,
making phone calls, and writing letters to increase
the numbers and power of the buffalo's constituency.
We fervently believe that when enough people are equipped
with the facts and the proper tools to put those facts
to use, public officials will have no choice but to
enact laws and policies that will protect the buffalo
for future generations.
We are an extremely efficient organization that gets
more done on less money than any other group in existence,
but our efforts do require money. We are in the
busiest time of our season, when our bare-bones expenses
exceed $10,000 a month. Unlike many of the larger,
more corporate groups, the majority of our budget is
covered by our network of individual supporters.
In other words, without individual contributions from
people like you, there would be no BFC.
Our work has helped bring awareness of the buffalo slaughter
to a national audience. One unfortunate downside
to this awareness is that many groups have now jumped
on the bandwagon and claim to be "saving the buffalo."
As a result we find ourselves facing increasing competition
for a diminishing pool of funds. Although all
environmental and animal rights groups working on this
issue depend on BFC for up-to-date news and information,
none of these groups make financial contributions to
insure our continued existence.
If you value the Yellowstone buffalo and our work on
their behalf, we need you to make a tax-deductible contribution
to BFC today. Our future--and the future of the
buffalo--depends on it.
Already in 2005, we have made great strides for the
buffalo. Together with you, our thousands of supporters
and family, we focused media attention on the ill-advised
buffalo hunt which lead to its cancellation; organized
a one-on-one meeting with Governor Brian Schweitzer;
and have been vigilant in opposing legislative and policy
efforts to quarantine, vaccinate, neuter, and otherwise
erode the wildness of the Yellowstone buffalo. We've
accomplished all this while feeding, housing, and equipping
the more than 100 volunteers who have comprised the
daily patrols we've been running since early November.
Hundreds of you have responded to our calls for action,
contacting agency officials and lawmakers, and making
a real difference for the buffalo. In the midst
of our eighth season we find ourselves in the difficult
position of needing to ask for your financial support.
The truth is that everything we do depends on you.
Please, if you are able, make a donation today.
The easiest way to donate is by clicking the red "donate
now" button on the bottom right hand side of our
web site: http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/.
Or send a check to the address listed at the bottom
of this message. We are a non-profit organization
and all donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed
by law. Please be as generous as we are committed,
and take a moment to make a donation to BFC today.
We envision a future gathering where buffalo supporters
and allies can come together in celebration of the long-term
protection of wild buffalo. Together we are making
a difference and together we will bring this vision
to fruition. Pass this on to others; our existence
depends on it.
From all of us at BFC, thank you.
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* Update from the Field
It is so cold now that our freezers are dying.
It's no wonder there are no cattle around now - they'd
never survive. This climate was given to the shaggy
buffalo; they carry on no matter the weather, facing
into a storm, grazing and sleeping in the wide open,
bitter cold spaces like there's nothing to it, like
they've been at it for millennia; and they have.
The cold crone bones of winter have a fierce grip on
us right now; the past few days have been utterly frigid,
as we've been experiencing an average of 25 below freezing
each morning. Waiting for the morning fire to
give its blessed heat, as we lay snug under covers in
the tipi, the strangely soothing and punctual sunrise
caws of Raven grind through the chill in the air and
wake us for hot coffee and breakfast. Reports
indicate that the cold is not going to let up any time
soon. But what else to expect when you live
in one of the coldest climates in the lower 48?
And we can't complain too much; aside from the pipes
freezing, things have been rather calm in the field.
The five bulls that were hazed last week have been peacefully
grazing and simply being buffalo trying to make it through
another winter. Most of the activity has
been in Helena, were lawmakers and lobbyists are trying
their best to make this world a more "interesting"
place, for better or for worse.
On Tuesday, Josh and I ventured to Helena to defend
the buffalo against some insane ideas coming from lawmakers
at the state capitol. Joined by two other buffalo
soldiers, Darrell and George, we stood before the Montana
House Agricultural Committee to speak in opposition
to recently introduced House Joint Resolution 22,
which urges federal agencies to "expedite the elimination
of brucellosis in the Yellowstone National Park bison
and elk herds and urges the president.... to name the
USDA as the lead agency in an elimination plan."
Though the resolution isn't legislation that would become
a state law, it would set a very scary precedent because
it essentially states that agriculture takes precedence
over wildlife no matter what. If adopted, it would
mean Montana agrees with removing the National Park
Service as the lead agency in charge of wildlife within
Yellowstone National Park, placing the USDA-Animal &
Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in that position.
APHIS will do whatever it takes to protect livestock
over wildlife (see below for a full description of APHIS)
and allowing them to take charge *inside* the park opens
the doors that nightmares are made of. It was
no surprise to hear DOL, the MT Cattlemen's Association,
and the MT Farm Bureau speak in favor of it, but we
were shocked and disheartened to hear Montana Fish,
Wildlife and Parks speak as a proponent of the resolution.
This is the agency we would have in charge of a buffalo
hunt? This is the agency in charge of protecting
and managing Montana's wildlife? The resolution
was written by a cattleman, and it reflects this segment's
ignorance and prejudice. For the full text of
the resolution go to http://data.opi.state.mt.us/bills/2005/billhtml/HJ0022.htm.
Montana residents should contact their House Representatives
(http://leg.state.mt.us/css/house/default.asp);
folks both in and out-of-state should contact Governor
Schweitzer (governor@mt.gov).
While in Helena, we also got some pretty bad news from
the Senate side: Senate Bill 353 passed the House
Resource Committee 5-4. This is the the bill that
would allow DOL to capture, neuter, quarantine and transport
wild buffalo in an effort to start herds on tribal lands.
Even its sponsor, Senator Pease, spoke to the absurdity
of starting herds with neutered buffalo and said his
bill probably isn't the right answer. Regardless,
the Chairman of the committee said that he voted to
pass it for two reasons: 1) 75%
of the comments he received were from out-of-state;
2) he heard no opposition from any
Montana tribal members. The bill could go to the
Senate floor at any time. Inaction on our part
will mean it's passage. If you are
a resident of Montana, it is *critical* that you contact
your senator (http://leg.state.mt.us/css/senate/default.asp
) regarding the negative impacts of SB 353; please also
contact Senator Pease and urge him to kill his own bill.
If you're from out-of-state, contact the Governor (governor@mt.gov)
and tell him that these buffalo do not belong to Montana,
and are not theirs to do with as they please.
Your voices count and must be heard.
It is a blessing that the west side is quiet right now;
things are otherwise coming at us from all angles.
On the north side, near Gardiner, buffalo are on the
move, and we are on stand-by, ready to set up camp there
at a moment's notice. We had been hopeful that
the milder weather, which brought some early green-up,
would check the buffalo's need to migrate out of the
Park, but temperatures have dropped, and buffalo will
be buffalo and will go where they need to be.
Unfortunately, we have only four working cameras, and
our operating budget is growing thin. In Helena,
legislation and resolutions keep us trekking to the
podium. Times are hard, and we are only in the
middle of the campaign season. We need your continued
support to keep our volunteers in the field and equipped,
able to carry the buffalo's message to the ears of the
world. Without you, we are not able to be here,
and that's the plain and simple truth. Asking
for money is one of our least favorite parts, but we
are doing that now. We need your financial support.
You make it possible for us to be in the field.
You make the difference. We really need your help
now.
For the Buffalo,
~Stephany
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* Who is APHIS?
The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) is one of five agencies involved in the Interagency
Bison Management Plan. APHIS is the federal agency
responsible for the national brucellosis eradication
program and is solely responsible for designating the
brucellosis status of individual states. All of
the funds spent by the state of Montana to implement
the Plan come from APHIS as part of their annual $9
million brucellosis eradication budget. The DOL
receives approximately $600,000 a year for the Plan
and another $250,000 for the Greater Yellowstone Interagency
Brucellosis Committee comes directly from APHIS.
Additionally, APHIS spends millions of dollars annually
for research into brucellosis vaccination of buffalo
and elk. Recently, APHIS has taken the lead on
quarantine research for Yellowstone buffalo. APHIS
also served in an advisory role to the Wyoming brucellosis
coordinating committee that has recommended test and
slaughter of elk on the Pinedale Feed Ground.
But what is APHIS really all about? The reality
is that APHIS is the federal arm of the agricultural
industries. In addition to disease control, APHIS
administers the grossly inappropriately named "wildlife
services" division. Formerly known as animal
damage control, APHIS oversees and administers the shooting,
poisoning, and trapping of millions of wild animals
deemed to be pests to agriculture including prairie
dogs, ravens, coyotes, beavers, foxes, opossums, and
countless other species. Ironically APHIS also
administers the Animal Welfare Act designed to protect
livestock from inhumane treatment. This is akin
to designating the Nazi SS as the watchdog for the treatment
of Jewish prisoners at Auschwitz. Additionally, APHIS
is the agency responsible for representing the United
States in international trade regulatory talks related
to the import and export of agriculture products including
the provisions for livestock diseases such as brucellosis.
Under the 2002 Animal Health Protection Act, APHIS claims
to have gained authority over any "animal"
(humans?) that might be considered a pest to the livestock
industry. APHIS has already claimed that this
act allows them to assert primary authority in developing
and carrying out management plans regardless of the
other jurisdictions in place. In other words,
APHIS claims that if they choose to, they could come
into Yellowstone National Park and capture, test and
slaughter any potentially disease-infected buffalo,
elk or any other species for that matter. At a
public meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming in May 2003,
APHIS unveiled their intentions to develop a brucellosis
eradication plan for the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA)
and designate themselves as the lead agency. Furthermore,
APHIS admits that the only currently developed "tools"
for eradicating brucellosis are test and slaughter in
combination with vaccination. However, given the
relative ineffectiveness of the available vaccines in
bison and elk, test and slaughter would be the primary
means of eradication. Montana resolution HJ22
requests that APHIS be named the lead agency for brucellosis
eradication in the GYA with full knowledge of how APHIS
would administer such a program.
It is high time that APHIS be exposed for what they
really are, the heavy hand of the agricultural industries.
APHIS has no real concern for wildlife or the ecosystems
they inhabit except when agriculture is potentially
affected in which case they aim to eliminate the "problem"
(i.e. wildlife) to insure maximum profit for the industries
they represent. APHIS must hear from you and the
message must be clear. Tell APHIS to keep their
hands off of our wildlife now and in the future.
Let APHIS know that Americans will not stand to see
the agents of death destroy our last and only wild buffalo
for the benefit of the livestock industry. Email:
APHIS.Web@aphis.usda.gov;
Web: http://www.aphis.usda.gov
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* A Volunteer's Experience
5:00 a.m. - wake up call for the first patrol.
We rise this morning long before dawn's first light
to pick our spot and stand our ground. Many of
the veterans here are expecting a hazing soon, maybe
today. It is in the field, on the front lines
where it all comes together. We don't fight with
guns or violence, instead we fight with our cameras
and a belief in our hearts and souls compelling us to
do what is right.
I am new here, and like many of you, I had my hesitations
about coming out here. I didn't know anyone, or
what it would be like living here. I must admit
I didn't even know for sure that it would be right for
me. All I knew is what the DOL was doing to the
bison and in turn to us all.
So here I am before the dawn getting ready to go into
the field. My job is simple, to document what
the DOL is doing to destroy a tenacious symbol of freedom,
spirit, and strength.
What about all my fears in coming here? How did
I overcome them?
Imagine a land where the bison shall never run free.
This is my answer.
~Kim
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* Last Words
The following is a brief transcript from the end of
Tuesday's hearing on House Joint Resolution 22.
Representative Jonathan Windy Boy, a Chippewa-Cree,
has a question for Tom Linfield, Montana's State Veternarian.
Linfield represents the Department of Livestock.
Representative Jonathan Windy Boy: "Looking
at this testimony here.... where did this brucellosis
come from?
Linfield: "It is unknown where it came from....
perhaps a milk cow in the early 1900's in Yellowstone
Park..."
Rep. Windy Boy: "So this came from a cow,
why are we putting blame on the buffalo?"
Linfield: "Certainly we're not blaming the buffalo
or the elk for the disease, our concern is the disease
and unfortunately both the bison and the elk are infected...
certainly we'd never blame the buffalo, it's just that
unfortunately they're the reservoir for the disease
right now."
Rep. Windy Boy: "That's where my confusion
is... my ancestors have been living on buffalo for centuries
and centuries and centuries. That's where my confusion
is. Why are we blaming the buffalo all of a sudden
for the last 100 years? Brucellosis wasn't an
issue then, why all of a sudden in the last 100 years?"
Linfield: "Essentially in this country, there's
been a fairly intensive brucellosis eradication program
in domestic livestock... The point is right now we have
very few remaining reservoirs of this disease in the
country... Wyoming and Texas are the only states that
are not class-free and the only other exception is this
reservoir in Yellowstone, in and around Yellowstone
National Park in both the bison and elk. I guess
I don't know if I directly answered your question, maybe
if you could rephrase it I could answer it better."
Representative Windy Boy waved his hand in frustration
and had no further questions for Linfield.
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