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* Update from the Field
Dear Buffalo Friends,
Summer is here and our field volunteers are now inside
the boundaries of Yellowstone with the surviving mighty
bison, educating national park visitors. BFC tables
inside Yellowstone every summer in an effort to let
park visitors know what happens to the buffalo they
are there to admire. Our shaggy friends gain a lot of
support from people visiting Yellowstone from across
the nation and around the globe. If you are planning
to visit Yellowstone this summer, look for us in the
Park. And, if you have an interest in helping BFC tell
the buffalo's story in Yellowstone this summer, please
contact Iwi at summer@buffalofieldcampaign.org.
Meanwhile, Montana's loss of it's coveted brucellosis-free
status is barely making news headlines. One would think
that if this was the huge economic disaster they have
always claimed, it would make the front page every day.
But, the media has been relatively quiet. And to date,
the cattle industry has not been able to rule out that
the transmission could have come from cattle. Of course,
quick to place blame, the cattle industry immediately
points the finger at wildlife inhabiting the Greater
Yellowstone Ecosystem, calling for "reductions"
in elk and bison populations. Killing half the bison
population wasn't enough to please them, apparently,
even though wild bison have never transmitted the cattle
disease to cattle. Perhaps it's time for a reduction
in the cattle populations that encroach on this majestic
wilderness region, because it's clearly not working
in this landscape. Nor is the industry's prized practice
of "test-and-slaughter" programs aimed at
grass-eating wildlife.
The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is one of the last
remaining wild places left in the lower-48, one of the
last homes to bison, elk, wolves, grizzly bears, wolverines,
and countless other wild species that cannot tolerate
the lethal invasion brought by cattle and the industry's
accompanying politics. Priorities and attitudes must
change, and they are changing, in a direction that recognizes
the irrational behavior and expectations of the cattle
industry and the strong economic, cultural, spiritual,
biological, and ecological benefit of wild bison all
over this land!
Roam Free!
~Stephany
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* COMMENT: Montana Buffalo Hunt Planned for
2008-2009
Given the slaughter of this past season we are shocked
to report that Montana intends to carry on with a buffalo
hunt this coming season. Apparently, half the last wild
population dead just isn't enough for Montana, the "big
skull state." Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Commission has decided to go ahead with the exact same
bison hunt as last season. Only this time, hunters don't
have to attend an education course. The state has still
not provided any year-round habitat for wild bison in
Montana, and they are still aggressively and lethally
"managed" by the Montana Department of Livestock,
the agency that is also authorizing the hunt. Wild bison
aren't even considered a wildlife species in Montana.
The only time they are allowed to step foot in the state
is from November 15 to February 15, during the hunt,
so they can be shot. The buffalo are a national treasure,
and now, due to Montana cattle politics, fewer than
2,100 wild American bison currently exist and they will
be under the gun again this winter.
TAKE ACTION FOR THE BUFFALO! Montana
Fish, Wildlife & Parks is accepting public comments
through July 18, and they need to hear from you! Please
visit the link below to submit your comments today and
please spread the word to save the herds!!!
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=2qclNo_2bC_2fpYkxAlq6kIeLA_3d_3d
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* "Buffalo News" ~ Collaborative
Newsletter for the Buffalo AvailableBUFFALO NEWS, is
a new collaborative newsletter jointly published by
a diverse group of wild bison allies: Buffalo Field
Campaign, Gallatin Wildlife Association, Horse Butte
Neighbors of Buffalo, Natural Resources Defense Council,
the InterTribal Bison Cooperative and Tataka Oyate:
7th Generation Fund. Working collectively, all these
groups have put together an update of what has occurred
with this year's slaughter, ideas on how to counter
the IBMP agencies, and a stellar center-fold map of
potential and available bison habitat in SW Montana.
These are perfect outreach tools for you to use in your
communities to help educate and inspire bison advocates
from wherever you may roam. Copies of the newsletter
are now available for distribution. Contact BFC Office
Coordinator, barb abramo via email at buffalo@wildrockies.org
or via snail mail at PO Box 957, West Yellowstone MT
59758-0957. Contributions for the cost of postage are
greatly appreciated.
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* "Let Buffalo Roam" License Plates
for Every State
American bison once spanned the continent, 50 million
strong, making their home in nearly all 50 states. One
way people across the land of the wild buffalo can show
support for their return is to make a statement with
Montana's new 'Let Buffalo Roam' license plates.
In Montana, official plates are available right now!
If you don't live in MOntana, you can still get a plate!
Throughout the country, anyone can acquire a sample
plate to let everyone know you think Montana should
let the buffalo roam! Check out Photo of the Week below
to see a perfect example of an out of state sample plate.
Purchase of plates goes directly towards BFC's front
lines work.
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* Photo of the Week
Patagonia's
Ron Hunter, Nevada resident, uses his sample license
plate to say: Montana MUST Let Buffalo Roam!
If you have trouble viewing this photo please visit
http://gallery.buffalofieldcampaign.org/v/photo_of_the_week/Photo+of+the+Week+6-26-08.jpg.html
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* Last Words
"Our approach to Nature is to beat it into submission.
We would stand a better chance of survival if we accommodated
ourselves into this planet and viewed it appreciatively,
instead of skeptically and dictatorially."
~ E.B. White
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