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Special Alert! Help Buffalo on the Hill - Reach Out
to Congress
Yellowstone buffalo need your help in the halls of Congress.
Do you live near or plan to visit the Washington D.C.
area? We would like to distribute our new collaborative
newsletter, Buffalo News, to members of the U.S. Congress
returning from their Independence Day break this week.
With 535 members to reach, can you help us distribute
newsletters to Congressional offices throughout the
country? If you're not heading towards the nation's
capitol, any time is a good time to visit your House
and Senate district offices. Most members of Congress
have offices in close proximity to where you live, and
they want to hear from constituents about their concerns.
Let them know the buffalo are a big concern for you,
and you want them to take positive action to help make
room to roam for the United State's last wild population
of American bison. District office locations and contact
information are available on your House and Senate member's
web sites. Visit the links below.
We will send you copies of Buffalo News for you to distribute
on the Hill or to district offices. Please drop us an
email to Help Buffalo on the Hill: buffalo@wildrockies.org
Find your Representative
Find your Senators
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* Update from the Field
Dear Buffalo Friends,
The few survivors in our nation's last wild population
of buffalo are enjoying a respite from the horrendous
treatment they and their relatives received this past
season. The buffalo are nourishing themselves on the
plentiful grasses of Yellowstone's high summer country,
raising their young, preparing for the coming rut season
that will bring on the next generation, and building
their bodies to survive another long, harsh winter.
We still do not know how many buffalo survived the season;
the Park Service has yet to do an estimate and release
the information. But we do know the numbers are dangerously
low; as of early April, there were only an estimated
2,100 wild buffalo remaining.
And there is no doubt that the coming winter may be
a difficult one for the buffalo and also for the elk.
Since Montana has lost it's brucellosis-free status,
the state is, of course, eager to take it out on grass-eating
wildlife. Montana along with various cattlemen associations,
livestock interests, and government agencies are devising
plans for elk test-and-slaughter programs. Many of you
have been sending us articles you've seen about this
potential travesty. Ranchers continue to complain of
there being "too many" buffalo and elk, yet
the nation hosts more than 100 million non-native cattle,
a large number of which graze in places where they simply
should not be; places that should be reserved for wildlife,
such as the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
We expect that hunters and wildlife enthusiasts will
not tolerate more of the same from the livestock interests,
and we intend to stop more slaughter before it begins,
be it elk or buffalo.
If livestock interests have their way, what you see
in this
video could become par for the course for Montana's
elk. Stop it before it starts! Wild bison and elk are
national treasures, public resources, integral parts
of the land, food for predators and for our souls, and
we cannot allow livestock interests to call the shots
any longer. It is imperative that we all contact our
Members of Congress and the media, letting them know
we will not stand for more of the same and encourage
them to take necessary action that respects and protects
native wildlife and their habitat, while curbing the
unwarranted power and fear-based propaganda of the livestock
industry!
Find your Representative
Find your Senators
Newspapers
to contact
Don't hesitate to contact your Members of Congress now.
It is an excellent time to get in touch with them, because
support for the buffalo is growing, as Buffalo Field
Campaign has been learning while tabling in Yellowstone
and Grand Teton National Parks. Interactions with park
visitors have been incredibly positive. Our tablers
are surprised and very pleased at the increasing number
of people already aware of the issue who are disgusted
by the government and industry's actions. The engaging
conversations are demonstrating that the word is getting
out in Montana and across the nation. The numbers of
people for the buffalo are rising!
YOU are a huge part of this shift in consciousness.
Endless pressure, endlessly applied. Keep it up ~ we
are all making a positive difference in this centuries-old
range war.
Roam Free!
~Stephany
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* Buffalo Field Campaign & Coffee Jones
Present the Buffalo Blend
BFC and Coffee Jones, a certified fair trade and independent,
organic, artisan coffee roaster, have come together
to offer the Buffalo Blend for your coffee-sipping pleasure.
Buffalo Blend is the preferred choice for those who
enjoy the caramelized flavors of dark roasted coffees
but want a sparkling finish. This blend features the
full body of Papua New Guinea coffees to ease you into
your day-yet is spiced with the fruity brightness of
Nicaraguan coffees to get you on your way.
A true reflection of the mighty bison: dark strength,
bright energy!
BFC will receive 12% of your purchase price to help
fund the vital work we do for wild bison. Your coffee
will be roasted only after you order it and delivered
to you within 24 hours ~ that's how Coffee Jones operates!
To order, please call Michael at Coffee Jones, 303.717.2381
and ask for the Buffalo Blend and/or any other roasts.
By mentioning that you are a supporter of Buffalo Field
Campaign and of Wild and Free Bison, we will receive
12%. It's that easy!
We hope to make your orders web-accessible and will
let you know when this convenience is available.
Thanks for your support, and cheers!
Learn more at:
Coffee Jones
4944 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80301
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* Bonnie Raitt BFC Benefit Tickets ~ Only 7
Tickets Left!
Enjoy incredible music by the beautiful and talented
Bonnie Raitt while helping keep Buffalo Field Campaign
on the front lines with the last wild buffalo! The Guacamole
Fund has generously offered Buffalo Field Campaign 20
tickets to legendary singer/songwriter Bonnie Raitt's
concert coming to Big Sky, MT on August 27, 2008. Tickets
are $200 each and include an aftershow backstage visit
with Bonnie! Ticket purchases go directly to Buffalo
Field Campaign.
Only 7 tickets are left! Get
yours now!
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* COMMENT: Montana Buffalo Hunt Planned for
2008-2009
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission has decided
to go ahead with the exact same bison hunt as last season.
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. 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 click
here to submit your comments today and please spread
the word to save the herds!!!
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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 for
over 10,000 years. 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. Official plates are available
for Montana residents, and anyone outside of Montana
can get sample plates to let everyone know you think
Montana should let the buffalo roam! Your purchase of
plates goes directly towards BFC's front lines work.
Learn
how to get yours here. When you get your plates,
send us a photo and we will consider it for Photo of
the Week, and will post them on our web site to show
the growing support across the land for wild buffalo
being free to roam!
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* Buffalo (and Elk!) in the News
7/6 - Letter:
Brucellosis management has utterly failed, Billings
Gazette
7/6 - Focus
on elk as disease persists near Yellowstone, Associated
Press
6/30 - Brucellosis
policy is unrealistic, Casper Star Tribune
6/29 - Letter:
Policy degrades healthy gene pool, Casper Star Tribune
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* Last Words
"Park Service officials insist that Yellowstone's
wildlife is the property of the entire country. If the
bison aren't allowed to roam across boundaries that
are political rather than ecological, park officials
and conservationists say, Yellowstone risks becoming
a gigantic, artificial zoo rather than a refuge where
nature is allowed to take its course."
~ This was the mindset of Yellowstone National Park
back in 1997. From an article in Newsweek, "Homeless
on the Range: Bison Are Protected If They Stay Within
Yellowstone. But If They Roam Out, State Livestock Agents
Will Shoot Them", By Daniel Glick, Mar 17, 1997
issue.
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