| Yellowstone Bison Slaughter
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| Weekly
Update from the Field February 24, 2005 |
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Update from the Field
* A Plea to Tribal Members
* Thank You for Supporting the Yellowstone Buffalo
* On the Legislative Front
* Letter to the Editor--Wildlife Mismanagement in Wyoming
and Montana
* Last Words - a Poem on Yesterday's Haze
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Update from the Field
It's 7:55 a.m on Wednesday, and as I sit on a.m. radios,
my thoughts turn back to a few days ago when I was on
patrol on the Madison River. It was a cold, snowy day,
and to me, it was astonishing. As my partners and I began
our patrol that morning, we were greeted by two bald eagles
flying up the Madison. We were there to find a bull buffalo
which had crossed Highway 191 the day before. We slowly
skied along the river, following the buffalo's tracks,
which were clearly marked in the snow. We followed reverently,
noticing where he had stopped to graze or bed down. Shortly
though, we became baffled. The tracks led to a spot next
to the river and disappeared. We searched for the remainder
of the morning, to no avail. The buffalo had apparently
vanished into thin air.
It was nearing shift change, so we headed back toward
the road and met up with the patrol on the northeast side
of the river. We huddled around the small fire as snow
flurries whipped around us. But my day was far from over.
At shift change, three new volunteers met me for the afternoon
shift. After chatting around the fire for a few minutes,
we carefully extinguished it and headed back toward the
west side of the river. We followed the old tracks once
again, hoping to find something we had overlooked. We
did. Luckily we found tracks winding through a stand of
firs. We were on the right track. As we progressed, we
came upon a spot where the buffalo had stopped to graze.
We could tell he had been there rather recently and decided
that it was a fine spot to stop for a bit of lunch. After
devouring fresh oranges, we continued on our way. As we
struggled to cross a small tributary, one of my patrol
partners spotted the buffalo less than 50 feet away, sheltered
under a large tree. As I struggled to cross the tributary
on my skis, I fancied I saw a gleam of amusement in his
eye.
As it nears 8:30 a.m., four days later, the radio crackles
to life. The Duck Creek patrol is calling. I answer swiftly.
As I listen to Duck Creek tell me that the DOL is warming
up their snowmobiles, my heart breaks. For I know that
soon the very same buffalo I shared a day with, along
with another bull who had later joined him, will soon
be needlessly accosted. They will be chased by snowmobiles,
driven by DOL, U.S. Forest Service, and MT Fish, Wildlife
and Parks agents. They will be assisted by the Montana
Highway Patrol, and Gallatin County sheriffs, and unbelievably,
the National Park Service. These agents disturb much wildlife
and the ecosystem as they race their snowmobiles through
tributaries and crush willows under their treads. No sweat
off their backs. But what of the buffalo who will be forced
to run, breaking trail through 3 or 4 feet of snow for
several miles using up much of his energy? As if this
torture wasn't enough, they will be exposed to the shock
and loud noise of "cracker rounds" - explosive
shells fired from a shotgun.
All of this because the buffalo dared to follow his instinct.
To come down from higher elevations where food was a little
bit easier to find. I wonder how it has come to this.
How have "wild, free-roaming" buffalo been placed
under the control of the DOL? How can agencies who are
supposed to protect our national and state land and wildlife
sanction torture and slaughter? Things could be worse,
I suppose. The buffalo could have been captured. They
could have been slaughtered. As for me... My heart has
been captured by these magnificent creatures. And every
move against them slaughters a part of me.
~Bobcat
BFC Volunteer
View BFC's exclusive video footage: |
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* A Plea to Tribal Members
Far be it for Buffalo Field Campaign to attempt to convey
to the Indian people in this country the sacredness
of the buffalo. But we do need to let you know that
the last wild herd is under relentless attack and in
need your help. We are here on the front lines with
the buffalo every day, and we see firsthand what is
happening to them in the field, and at the tables where
decisions regarding their immediate future are being
made. The state and federal agencies who harass and
slaughter the buffalo, and the legislators in the state
of Montana who perpetuate more forms of madness, continue
to use tribes in an effort to capture and hold prisoner
(quarantine) members of the country's last wild, genetically
pure herd. There is a bill before the Montana legislature
right now that calls for the MT Department of Livestock
to capture, neuter and quarantine wild buffalo migrating
from Yellowstone National Park, all in an effort to
start herds on tribal lands. This is far more than insulting,
and it is moving through the legislature quickly. Buffalo
should be restored to tribal lands, and all of their
native habitat, but there are far better solutions than
rounding them up like cattle, holding them prisoner
for any length of time, and shipping them off in trucks
like livestock.
A central part of Buffalo Field Campaign's mission is
to increase tribal participation in management decisions
affecting the Yellowstone herd. With respect for the
buffalo, and the strong relationship between the Indian
people and the buffalo, we offer ourselves as a resource
and ally so that together, we can be assured of a future
in which wild, free-roaming buffalo re-inhabit their
traditional land.
If you are a tribal member, please send us your contact
information so that as urgent matters arise in which
your voice can immediately help the buffalo, we can
reach you and build a stronger network that is a righteous
and powerful voice for the buffalo. Please email Stephany
at bfc-media@wildrockies.org
with your name, mailing address, email address, phone
number, tribal affiliation, and include contact information
for any other tribal representatives or individuals
such as organizations, media outlets, colleges, legislators,
traditionalists, web sites, artists, etc. you feel we
need to make a connection with. You can continue to
help spread the word about what is happening to the
last herd of unfenced buffalo in this country. We have
hundreds of newsletters available to send to you if
you can distribute them, video footage you can show
in your community, you can subscribe your friends and
relatives to our weekly Updates from the Field, you
can help circulate a petition to list the Yellowstone
buffalo as a "distinct population segment"
under the Endangered Species Act, and of course you
can come and volunteer on the front lines with us. And
we know you have powerful ideas of your own. There are
many things that we can do together to stop the slaughter
of these gentle, holy giants. Let us begin now.
In solidarity for the buffalo,
~Stephany
bfc-media@wildrockies.org
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* Thank You for Supporting the Yellowstone Buffalo
Greetings Buffalo friends and family,
The response to last week's plea for financial help
was great. The kind words of encouragement and donations
have helped bring us closer our financial goals. THANK
YOU for your passion and dedication to our vision of
wild free roaming buffalo for future generations! Together
we are making a difference!
We will forge ahead on the public awareness, legislative,
scientific and on the ground frontlines work. We know
that each of you will be helping the buffalo with your
own special talents - whether by recycling printer cartridges,
passing our web address on to friends, writing letters,
or hosting a video showing or benefit.
Donations
directly support our front-lines patrols. Keep our volunteers
in the field with a secure online donation (www.buffalofieldcampaign.org)
or by mailing a check to: BFC, POB 957,West Yellowstone,
MT 59758. |
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Starting on March 2nd, O'Ceallaigh Originals will offer
a fine gourd art mask FOR THE BUFFALO on ebay along
with a signed copy of April Christoferson's novel Buffalo
Medicine. The hand-crafted mask is adorned with
stone and glass beadwork and faux fur. Thank you Mel
& April!
Here's
the mask:
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The
gourd mask will be EBay Item number 7303557668 starting
March 2 and ending March 12th.
Other supporter to supporter incentives are also coming
online and we will keep you updated.
With deepest respect we offer thanks for your support
of our true grassroots work for the buffalo! Enjoy the
update and we look forward to hearing from you!
For all that's wild and free,
Su
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* On the Legislative Front
With the legislative session ending in March, the Montana
State Legislature has been incredibly busy making life
more difficult for the Yellowstone herd. Here's a quick
update on the status of bison legislation migrating (and
not) through the Montana Legislature, and a bit on the
money and influences behind the sponsors.
SB 353 - titled transfer neutered wild bison to tribal
organizations
* Sponsored by Sen. Gerald Pease from Lodge Grass, affiliated
with the Crow
* Sen. Pease had no donors listed as contributors to his
campaign: http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?si=200426&c=401696
* Passed Senate Natural Resources committee on 5-4 vote
* 3rd and final reading in the Senate passed 41 to 9
* Transmitted to the House; no assignment yet on which
committee will hear the bill
click here for the latest vote: http://data.opi.state.mt.us/bills/2005/Votes/s0448.txt
HJR 22 - joint resolution on bison management naming APHIS
as lead agency to eradicate brucellosis from elk and bison
* Sponsored by Rep. Jim Peterson from Buffalo, affiliated
with the Montana Stockgrowers Association (10 years),
National Cattleman's Beef Association, US Meat Export
Association, Montana Grain Growers
* The names of Rep. Peterson's top donors can be found
here: http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?si=200426&c=401699
* Amended resolution passed House Agriculture committee
on 16-4 vote Feb 18
* 3rd and final reading in the House passed 72-27
* Transmitted to the Senate
click here for the vote: http://data.opi.state.mt.us/bills/2005/Votes/H043039.txt
TAKE ACTION: Montana residents should
contact their House and Senate members, and urge them
to vote for buffalo, not these bills. Folks out-of-state
and in Montana should contact Governor Brian Schweitzer,
and let him know that these buffalo do not belong to the
state of Montana, and that he should do what is within
his power to stop these measures from becoming law. Please
also write letters to the editor of Montana newspapers,
especially the Helena Independent Record, which is read
by legislators and the Governor.
Montana Senate: http://leg.state.mt.us/css/senate/default.asp
Montana House: http://leg.state.mt.us/css/house/default.asp
Montana Governor: http://governor.mt.gov/
Letters to the Editor: http://buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/lte.html
Thank you for taking action for the buffalo!
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* Letters to the Editor
Thanks to our friend Robert Hoskins for his steadfast
work on behalf of the buffalo and elk of the Greater Yellowstone
Area. Robert has submitted the following letter to the
editor to area papers:
The states of Montana and Wyoming seem to be in a horse
race to see who can do the best job of mismanaging elk
and bison. Unfortunately, the Montana House of Representatives' House
Joint Resolution No. 22 (HJ22), which calls for a federal
takeover of elk and bison management in the Greater Yellowstone
Ecosystem for brucellosis control, threatens to upset
that horse race.
Wyoming, through its elk feedgrounds, has sustained
brucellosis at such a high seroprevalence in elk west
of the Continental Divide that the State has now
lost its brucellosis-free status, with three confirmed
outbreaks of brucellosis in cattle herds west of the Divide within
the space of a year.
Now, to compound the problem of brucellosis in elk, the
State is determined to impose a test and slaughter
pilot project on the Pinedale Elk Herd, ostensibly to
reduce the Herd's brucellosis seroprevalence.
This project is a follow up to the Wyoming Game &
Fish Department's two decades long Strain 19 vaccination
program on the elk feedgrounds. Scientific peer review
has determined that the program is invalid due to
poor experimental design, inadequate sampling, and serious
errors of statistical analysis.
Expect the same high degree of scientific incompetence
to apply to the test and slaughter project.
In Montana, HJ22 asserts, in a most startling fashion, that
the feds could do a better job of mismanaging bison than
can Montana's Department of Livestock.
I disagree. Montana's DOL has an excellent track record
of mismanaging bison, with its mindless slaughter,
puerile hazing activities, and malicious capture and quarantine
methods. The DOL is right up there with the best.
HJ22 is truly unnecessary, and I hope Montana's Senate
kills it. Neither Montana's DOL with
its brutality nor Wyoming's G&F Department
with its incompetence needs any assistance from the
feds in their mutual competition to see who can completely
destroy the wildness of elk and bison first.
Sincerely,
Robert Hoskins
Crowheart WY 82512
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* Last Words
February 23, 2005
They hazed two bison back in the park
at 10:15 this morning
Agencies funded by tax dollars
for the people and by the people
Montana Department of Livestock
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
USDA Forest Service
Sheriffs and the National Park Service
Working together to move, shove, "scootch",
pull, push, remove, control, lead, bully
these wild creatures back where they "belong"
If these animals could only speak for themselves
If they could share their stories of living through
the centuries despite the efforts of great and corruption
ongoing consumption
leading to destruction
of native and land
tame the fields and plow the earth
haze a baby - as mama's giving birth
torture the natives and take the land
Lie to the masses so we won't understand
fill them with propaganda
- keep up with corruption
force them to work - to blindly adhere
push them out of love and understanding
- into fear
convince them progressive imperialism is the only way
take the wild
and kill the stray
The weak, the passive, the peaceful will die
Then this force of evil will try
Destroying, employing, and controlling - but why?
Do they not know what they're doing is wrong?
Fears masked and armored with guns
Where is the great goddess to show them the way?
Where is the divine - to shelter the stray?
Mother Earth - to protect, destroy and create
Please don't abandon those who need you most
Protect the innocent and shelter the few
Who still hold strong - praying for you
By Natalie Schafrath
BFC Volunteer |
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