*
Update from the Field
Dear Buffalo Friends,
Buffalo blood continues to spill along the west and
north boundaries of Yellowstone National Park. As of
this writing, 102 of America's last wild bison have
been killed in the so-called hunt. While the Nez Perce
began their hunt a little over a week ago, all the kills
this week have been by state hunters, with two killed
in Gardiner and the rest here in West Yellowstone. It
has been hard on volunteers, spending sacred time with
these gentle creatures and being awestruck by their
majesty and presence on the landscape, only to watch
them fall to the bullet one after another. We can only
hope that the hunters we have spoken with will realize
the obligation they have to the future of wild buffalo
and that they will become strong advocates for year-round
buffalo habitat in Montana. It is hard to imagine that
we've already lost 102 American bison to the hunt, and
the hazing/capture/slaughter season is just around the
corner. All of this buffalo death is explicitly to benefit
the economic interests of Montana's livestock industry.
Gardiner patrols based along Yellowstone's northern
boundary have seen a lot of buffalo mismanagement activity
this week. On Monday, 36 wild buffalo were hazed by
Montana Department of Livestock and Yellowstone park
rangers off of Church Universal & Triumphant (CUT)
land, back to the Arch in Yellowstone National Park.
On Wednesday 49 buffalo were hazed by the same agents
from the Stephens Creek bison trap area - inside Yellowstone
National Park - and back to the same location. But today
was the kicker in Gardiner. This morning a group of
10 buffalo were hazed by the same cowboys off of CUT
land to a place in the park called Powerline Flats,
and these buffalo are currently being hazed deeper into
the Park as I write. Then, again this morning, BFC patrols
monitored a haze that really underscores the absurdity
of calling Montana's buffalo hunt "fair chase."
There was a group of 12 buffalo that had crossed east,
over the Yellowstone River, and were found grazing within
a cattle pasture owned by a local outfitter who has
a mere 25-head of cows on his land. The DOL sounded
dramatic when they told us that "the only thing
standing between the buffalo and these cows were the
agents on the ground."
Montana Department of Livestock (DOL) and Yellowstone
National Park rangers claim they attempted to haze this
group of buffalo back across the river, but the buffalo
didn't want to go that way. The agents decided to push
them instead to Highway 89 which runs north/south through
the town of Gardiner and into Yellowstone National Park.
The ridiculous thing was, the agents didn't try to move
the buffalo along the highway and back into the Park,
which would have been the easier and safer route for
the buffalo. Instead, they pushed them east and right
up towards the hunt zone. Incredible! The Department
of Livestock claims that the buffalo moved in that direction
"of their own accord" yet since when do these
bison harassers ever let the buffalo chose their own
direction? So, the agents - DOL and National Park Service
- moved the buffalo up into the Travertine area of Gallatin
National Forest, where the hunt is currently taking
place. And they want to call it a 'fair chase' hunt.
After Gardiner patrols called to tell us this news,
Arlo and I were on the phones quickly, calling various
agencies and trying to find out what was going on. Why
were the Park Service and Department of Livestock hazing
buffalo into the hunt zone, and why wasn't the hunt
being shut down during this operation? Why didn't the
agents make an effort to move them along the highway
and back into the Park instead? Why was the NPS even
involved in pushing wild bison off of private land into
a hunt zone? The agencies had excuse after excuse and
no good explanation.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks at first confirmed
that, yes, the agents were going to push buffalo into
the hunt zone. When we asked if this was legal, they
said "it's not illegal." Not illegal for livestock
agents and Yellowstone Park employees to push members
of America's last wild bison population into the hunt
zone where they can be shot? How in the world can they
call this hunt "fair chase" when the DOL and
NPS are both interrupting and enabling it by forcing
buffalo into an area to be killed? There's nothing fair
about the way wild buffalo are treated in Montana. When
we asked why they didn't shut the hunt down for this
hazing operation, they said that they didn't because
they don't have a game warden on the ground and therefore
didn't know if there were any hunters in the area. Glad
to know our wildlife is being protected! We told them
there were, indeed, hunters around, that we had seen
them the day before. Ironically, Gardiner has had less
of a "successful" bison harvest than they
usually do because, until today, no thanks to the DOL
and NPS, there just hadn't been many buffalo moving
into that area. Amazing, to have an ongoing hunt and
no wildlife agency out to monitor the situation. Anything
can happen. It seems BFC is doing aspects of their job
for them, as we are out there every day monitoring the
buffalo and the situations they face. NOTE: Just before
this Update was complete, we got a call from FWP saying
that they had met and agreed that this haze was not
in the spirit of the hunt, and they have subsequently
placed an emergency closure in a portion of this hunt
zone. Though these buffalo, if they remain in the hunt
zone, are still in danger due to the DOL's actions,
this closure was the right move for FWP to make. No
state hunters may kill bison west of Eagle Creek until
Saturday morning and first shooting light. The closure
does not apply to the Nez Perce, who are hunting under
treaty right. You can read FWP's press release about
the emergency closure here: http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6469.aspx
When we spoke with Yellowstone National Park officials
and asked them what was going on, they basically told
us "we're just out supporting this operation."
How shameful for our National Park Service employees
to assist Montana livestock agents in harassing wild
bison by pushing them into a hunt zone. Then again,
the Park Service doesn't blink an eye at capturing,
killing and quarantining the last wild herd in the U.S.
As Suzanne Lewis put it to us last year, her biggest
nightmare is a brucellosis transmission from wild bison
to cattle. The death of these sacred buffalo under her
watch should be the nightmare, and the fact that it
isn't let's us all know that something is very, very
wrong.
Both FWP and the NPS said they had no decision-making
in this hazing operation, yet the DOL claims that it
was an "Interagency decision." Who's telling
the truth? It's time to give these agencies a call and
let them know you are not falling for these cattle industry-induced,
taxpayer-funded government shenanigans http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/politicians.html.
Then there were the conversations with the Department
of Livestock. Arlo and I spoke with both the Montana
State Vet Marty Zalusky and the new Public Information
Officer Steve Merritt, neither of whom knew any details
as to what their agents were conducting on the ground.
Later, after the hazing operation ended, they called
Arlo and ran through the list of excuses that make them
get away scott free every single time: They said the
haze stopped 300 yards away from the hunt zone, so that's
why there was no need to call off the hunt. But the
buffalo kept walking towards the hunt zone, so in effect,
yes, they did haze them into it. And that's when they
gave us the line about the buffalo deciding to move
to the hunt zone on their own, and that's why they didn't
try to push them back towards the Park. The DOL also
tried to use a little scare tactic with us, telling
us that one of the options they considered today was
capturing the buffalo instead. Are we supposed to be
thankful, then, that they hazed them into the hunt zone
instead?
All in all it was an afternoon of frustrated government
mismanagement. If it weren't so tragic and real it could
almost be funny. This operation has unnecessarily placed
a family group of wild bison in danger, all for the
sake of a handful of invasive cattle and the thoughtless
actions of livestock agents. How in the world can any
of these agencies hope to save face for the actions
they take against wild bison. Their actions will go
down in history; we are making sure of that. They hunt
them, they haze them, they capture, test, slaughter,
quarantine, vaccinate.... we must put an end to these
negative actions; we must realize our positive vision
of wild buffalo on the landscape and help them reclaim
their North American home.
The Montana bison hunt ends a week from tomorrow, on
February 15, and on the 16th the Department of Livestock
and cooperating agencies will begin to be out in force
to chase what wild buffalo remain in Montana back into
Yellowstone's harsh winter country. Next week, with
your help, we will put the pressure on. See below for
details.
Thank you for being with us in solidarity for the wild
buffalo.
Roam Free!
~Stephany
------------------------------
* Week of Action! Feb 14 - 21, 2008
The time has come for us to gather our forces and make
every effort to put a stop to the harassment and slaughter
of America's last wild bison population before it begins
this season. With the help of the Humane Society of
the United States, the Animal Welfare Institute, Gallatin
Wildlife Association, and others, Buffalo Field Campaign
will host a Week of Action February 14 through February
21, 2008.
A series of National Call-in Days, a Letter to the Editor
campaign, and a Rally near the West Yellowstone entrance
to Yellowstone National Park will all take place during
this Week of Action.
We will target the main decision-makers involved with
the Interagency Bison misManagement Plan and we will
flood the media with letters to the editor to help get
this story out into the public eye. One of our main
goals here it to shed light on Yellowstone National
Park's role in the killing of the American bison, the
last wild population in the U.S. We need *everyone*
to participate so please get ready to take some action
for the last wild buffalo!
Be on the look out for a series of special alerts from
us in the coming week and a half. There is a good amount
of information posted on our web site about the Week
of Action, so take a look and get your dialing and writing
fingers ready! http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/weekofaction08.html#callinday
If you can make it to West Yellowstone, Montana for
the rally, we will gather at the West entrance to Yellowstone
National Park at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 16.
Please spread the word and help us save these special
herds!
------------------------------
* Thank You Patagonia, ORC, Michael Franti,
Removal Act, and Tibetan Trader!
Fundraising and spreading the word of the buffalo are
not the things we usually write about but they are both
such crucial aspects of our work. In the last week of
January Patagonia invited Buffalo Field Campaign to
participate in the Outdoor Retailer's Convention (ORC)
in Salt Lake City, so Stu and I went down and helped
spread the word to save the herd. We talked with hundreds
of outdoor gear companies that had never heard of Buffalo
Field Campaign. Patagonia has always been a huge BFC
supporter and this was just one more example of how
they help in every way possible. Lisa Pike got us into
the show and helped us find our way around and be very
productive. We can never express enough thanks to all
of our family at Patagonia and their never-ending contributions
to the buffalo.
Michael Franti and Spearhead also played two shows while
we were in Utah and he and his great management crew
(Anita and Jill) made sure the buffalo were mentioned
both nights. Sundance film festival was also going on
and our friends Janel, Steve, and Alex of the Removal
Act were up their spreading the word about the buffalo,
thank you!
I met last week with Jennifer from the Tibetan Trader
in Bozeman and she was enthused about helping spread
the word in Bozeman and in helping BFC identify and
apply for a grant in support of our work. Every little
bit makes a big difference with the BFC, so thanks to
everyone who has ever made or is thinking of making
a donation. We will continue to be here advocating for
change until the buffalo are treated with the respect,
honor and reverence that they truly deserve.
With the Buffalo,
Mike Mease
------------------------------
* Photo of the Week
http://gallery.buffalofieldcampaign.org/v/photo_of_the_week/2008-02-07.html
Snow! Snow! And a lot more SNOW! Here are some shots
around our living quarters of the BFC volunteers and
structures who have been bombarded by snow! We have
been very busy keeping up with the snow that continues
to fall nearly every day. Thanks to all who have been
steadily shovelling and plowing all around our home.
Photos by Stephany.
------------------------------
* Last Words
"Playing God, as Yellowstone biologists have done
since some of the last grizzly bears and bison were
given a home in the park, has been fraught with problems.
Tourists used to file into grandstands to watch rangers
feed garbage to grizzly bears; this produced a generation
of welfare-dependent big animals, who didn't smell all
that good either. Weaning them of dump scraps was an
epic fight. There are far too many elk in the park,
but until wolves were brought back, there was no predator.
In hard winters, thousands of elk died of starvation;
I saw them pawing the doors of houses in Gardiner and
staggering around Main Street looking for handouts.
Nonnative trout are crowding out the homegrown cutthroat
in Yellowstone Lake. And what about humans, long a part
of the Yellowstone ecosystem? The Indians set fires
and chased bison off cliffs. Now, snowmobiles make convenient
paths in the snow for the bison to exit the park, at
which point they are shot dead by the long arm of the
cattle industry."
~ Timothy Egan, Lasso the Wind, p. 177
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