| Yellowstone Bison Slaughter
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| Weekly
Update from the Field May 14, 2009 |
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| Bison
on Horse Butte Mercilessly Hazed out of Montana
* Update from the Field
* The Wild in Us
* Join the Front Lines
* BFC Media Crew Needs a Laptop
* Last Words
* Kill Tally |
* Update from the Field
Though a day early, the dreaded time has come: All the
buffalo have been cruelly forced off of Horse Butte.
All week patrols have been documenting the Montana Department
of Livestock, Yellowstone National Park, Gallatin National
Forest and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks agents carry
out massive and relentless hazing operations, harassing
and harming America's last wild bison population.
Photo by Lance Koudele
On Tuesday, agents were set to haze bison within Yellowstone
National Park to "make room" for the bison that
would be hazed off of Horse Butte. But Mother Nature had
different plans: one group of bison the agents planned
to target consisted of forty bulls who would follow none
of the agents' orders. An incredible hail storm assisted
and the haze was called off for the day. But such luck
was momentary.
Every day this week agents chased bison family groups,
including newborn calves and pregnant mothers, off of
the south side of the Madison River, and today they set
their sights on cattle-free Horse Butte. In fact, all
of the Gallatin National Forest lands where the buffalo
roam are cattle free, yet livestock interests insist on
assaulting them with mounted
cowboys*, ATVs, local and federal law enforcement
and the DOL's
helicopter.*
BFC volunteers documented some heartbreaking scenes this
week: Yesterday, patrols documented a radio-collared bison
female with a calf who had suffered an injury in her attempts
to flee a cowboy in pursuit of she and two other buffalo
moms and babies. Today, patrols discovered a calf who
was orphaned, having been separated from its mother during
a hazing operation. Typically, bison mothers will return
to look for their calves, yet agents are pushing bison
deep into Yellowstone - nearly 20 miles - so it is unlikely
that the calf's mother will be able to return, or find
her baby before it dies. Today, patrols following the
buffalo being hazed off Horse Butte witnessed a calf with
a broken leg. The little calf, in spite of it's likely
fatal injury, still somehow managed to keep up with the
herd for a long distance. Finally, the calf and its mother
dropped behind. Nevertheless, a DOL agent insisted on
flexing his authority over the bison and tried to push
them forward. The mother charged the agent numerous times.
After prompting by the bison mother and BFC, the DOL agent
finally left the scene. The calf was last seen still trying
to keep up with mom, as she made her way in the direction
that her family was pushed.
The DOL and other agents violated
private property rights* on Horse Butte today as well.
They flew their helicopter low to the ground inside the
Galanis' Yellowstone Ranch Preserve, Montana's largest
"Buffalo Safe Zone." Agents on horseback and
an ATV, accompanied by a Forest Service law enforcement
officer, also patrolled the housing area of Yellowstone
Village; for years the majority of residents in Horse
Butte's Yellowstone Village have been resisting the DOL's
intrusion upon the bison in their neighborhood.
Agents are pursuing these tormented, exhausted buffalo
deep into Yellowstone. By the end of the day, bison from
Horse Butte will have been hazed for approximately 20
miles.
Please continue to speak for the buffalo by writing
to President Barack Obama and urge him to stop allowing
U.S. tax dollars be wasted by Montana's livestock industry
to harass and kill America's last wild bison population.
Choose wild bison, not cows or condos!
ROAM FREE!
*Photos courtesey of Lance Koudele
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* The Wild in Us
Does chaos allow people to appreciate stillness? It does
me. Does the continual chaos of present day culture shut
people down? Turn them off? It seems the wild within us
has become a very faint and distant memory. Chaos has
allowed me to appreciate the stillness, the beauty, the
quiet. It is the calm after the storm. It is the stillness
after weeks of continental winds. It is the power of another
herd heading to their ancestral birthing grounds after
days, weeks, years of being hazed by "management
men" and their machines. It is the knowledge that
it will happen again and again and again if we as a citizenry
do not shout Enough!
Is this not just a micro example of what is happening
to us? Are we not constantly being hazed ourselves? "Pay
the bills! Do this! Take that! Go here! Buy this!"
Cracker round shots fired at us in the form of commercials,
billboards and terror alerts. It is no wonder we have
become so disconnected from our wild roots. Yet the hawk
continues to pierce the stillness of the sky and raven
caws as well. And there is something within me that is
trying to strike some balance between outrage and understanding.
That this game between us and them is so much bigger than
me. That maybe I am not here to "save the Bison,"
but to save the wild in me. Buffalo have been and continue
to be a gift to the people. What will it take for America
to awake? The intelligence of these animals goes beyond
words. They have been around many lifetimes before me,
and this is not their first time dealing with the viciousness
of man--a particular breed of man whose well will never
be full enough. Yet something has brought us all here
together. That something is America's last wild and free
herd of buffalo.
This Friday marks Montana's official "zero tolerance"
for any buffalo left in the state. As we have been witnessing
year after year, this Monday began the full-fledged efforts
of the government to remove every last buffalo from the
state of Montana. These last four days have been filled
with buffalo being chased by ATVs, men on horseback, law-enforcement
vehicles, and thundering chopper blades--creating chaos
and mayhem for buffalo mamas and newborn calves as well
as yearlings, bulls, and all the other wildlife that lives
in this migratory paradise. Not only have hazes been occurring
outside the Park, the Park Service has been actively participating
in hazing various herds that are currently within the
boundaries of Yellowstone National Park. A place where
bison are supposed to be able to "roam free."
Yet we are being told that they need to be moved deeper
into the Park! Today we witnessed as the chopper flew
up and down, back and forth, kicking up dust, and blasting
a loud siren on top of it's already obnoxious thundering
blades. Calves were forced to swim against the river's
current in order to keep up with their exhausted mothers.
Another calf was separated from its mother and as of this
writing is wandering alone along the Madison River searching
for her. Yet another newborn calf had its leg shattered
and was forced to run for miles supporting its weight
on the knee joint. Yet the haze pushed on.
And the buffalo will push on. They will again return to
reclaim their stolen ground, and one day not too long
from now, they will succeed.
~Roman Sanchez
BFC Volunteer and Board Member
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* BFC Needs You on the Front Lines!
Buffalo Field Campaign is looking for volunteers to join
us on the front lines now. Buffalo migration is in full
swing and our shaggy friends are everywhere, keeping us
busy nearly 24 hours a day. Extreme and invasive hazing
operations have begun, and will likely continue throughout
the rest of the month, and possibly beyond. We need you
to join us on the front lines! BFC provides room, board,
training, and gear; the ecosystem provides the magic and
mystery. If you are interested, please contact Chris,
our volunteer coordinator at volunteer@buffalofieldcampaign.org
or call 406-646-0070.
We are also looking for summer volunteers to help us with
outreach in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.
Talking to park visitors who are in the company of the
buffalo we are trying to protect is a great way to raise
awareness and make more friends for the buffalo. If you
would like to spend some or all of your summer with BFC,
please contact Mike at mease@wildrockies.org
or call 406-646-0070.
See you in West Yellowstone in the land of the last wild
buffalo!
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* Apple Laptop Computer Needed for BFC's Media
Crew
BFC's media crew is looking for a good Apple/Mac laptop
computer. All of our computers are currently stationary
systems, and a laptop will enable us to work from other
locations and consequently be more effective with communications
and outreach. All donations to BFC are tax deductible
and are very much appreciated! If you can help us acquire
a laptop please contact Stephany at bfc-media@wildrockies.org
or call us at 406-646-0070.
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* Last Words
"If your mercy is so cruel, what do you have
for justice?"
~ Bernard Pomerance, from The Elephant Man (The Play)
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* Kill Tally
AMERICAN BISON ELIMINATED from the
last wild population in the U.S.
2008-2009 Total: 17
2008-2009 Slaughter: 0
2008-2009 Hunt: 1
2008-2009 Quarantine: 0
2008-2009 Shot by Agents: 1
2008-2009 Highway Mortality: 16
2007-2008 Total: 1,631
Total Since 2000: 3,698*
*includes lethal government action, quarantine, hunts,
highway mortalities
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Media & Outreach
Buffalo Field Campaign
P.O. Box 957
West Yellowstone, MT 59758
406-646-0070
bfc-media@wildrockies.org
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org
BFC is the only group working in the field every day
in defense of the last wild buffalo population in the
U.S.
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