Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC)
News from the Field
March 3, 2005
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View Exclusive Video Footage & Photos Featured in This Week's
Update at:
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org
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In this Issue:
* Update from the Field
* Live in Montana? Take Action for the Buffalo Today!
* Buffalo Nickel Premature in Light of Yellowstone
Slaughter
* Three Things You Can Do for the Buffalo Today
* Last Words
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* Update from the Field
When you keep company with wild buffalo, especially in winter,
things are bound to be interesting. Magic happens. Late
last week, under the Full Moon, we pulled a couple of all-night
patrols out on Fir Ridge, keeping watch over an older bull who had
been too close to the Duck Creek buffalo trap for anyone's
comfort.
The night was set afire by the cool, silver moonlight, and the
knowledge that just a few yards away was this massive bull whom we
were guarding. Huddled around our campfire, bundled in our
sleeping bags and blankets, we drank hot tea and ate frozen
sandwiches, told stories, and bonded with one another through the
chill of the winter, the light of the Moon, and the awesome company of
the buffalo. When dawn arrived, along with our a.m. relief, we
were hesitant to leave, so enriching was the night. Thank you Sing and
Warren, and the Buffalo. It is amazing how the buffalo weave us
together, and strengthen our family ties, many times when we are least
expecting it but need it the most. Thankfully, that lone bull is
in a place where he cannot be touched by the long-arm of the law, and
so he grazes in peace among the willows.
That was nearly a week ago. In the days and nights that
followed, events both unforgettable and heartbreaking took
place.
On Saturday afternoon, 22 buffalo left the
park along the Madison River, and moved west, crossing Highway
191.
Six BFC volunteers were along the roadside with buffalo-crossing
signs, as we often are, warning oncoming motorists that buffalo were
ahead. That group of buffalo safely crossed the road.
Later that night, another large group travelled the same route, and
they, too, began to cross the road. Again we were there; we had
never left. That night, as the buffalo were crossing, one driver
made the choice to ignore our signs, the other cars pulled over, and
our frantically waving hands -- he did not slow down. By the
time he saw the buffalo it was too late. His truck struck two
female buffalo right before our eyes. One was standing and was
able to limp away but the other was badly hurt. The local
sheriff did the thankless but necessary deed of releasing her from her
pain. She is no longer with us, and there are no words to
describe the horror and heartache of that moment, or the anger and
frustration we felt in bearing witness to the carelessness of the
truck driver. Like the memory of that buffalo, the sadness will
never go away.
All but four bulls eventually made their own
way back into the park. Yesterday, the DOL arrived and hazed the
four bulls several miles along the Madison River, and as usual, other
wildlife was disturbed including elk, trumpeter swans, eagles, great
blue herons and other animals. The bulls, which cannot transmit
brucellosis, were grazing on National Forest lands that never have
cattle present and the nearest cattle are 35-40 miles away. This
has become a weekly occurrence here and the disruption to wildlife is
disturbing. Grizzly bears, wolves, bald eagles, wolverines,
trumpeter swans, osprey, great blue herons, common goldeneye, otters,
mallards, moose, bison, elk, mergansers, coyotes, Canada geese,
sandhill cranes, mule deer, ermine/weasels, martens, fischers all
depend on this habitat and to have a weekly haze using snowmobiles,
ATV's, or helicopters weakens the whole system. Hazing doesn't
affect just the bison, which deserve to be here, but it affects the
whole area. Many times we have seen these animals terrorized by
the hazing and have watched buffalo running to get away from
government agents with their tongues hanging out.
We are here in the field, and we need you
there where you are to help us tell these stories. Please read
further to learn about different ways you can stop the harassment and
slaughter of America's last wild buffalo.
For the Buffalo,
~Stephany, Kim, & Ken
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Live in Montana? Take Action for the Buffalo Today!
If you live and vote in Montana, then you need to take action
today. A bill to neuter wild buffalo that leave Yellowstone
National Park is quickly moving through the State Legislature.
SB 353, which has already passed the Senate, allows for the Department
of Livestock (DOL) to perform surgery on captured buffalo, rendering
them infertile. These neutered buffalo would then be
shipped
to Indian reservations in an attempt to gain tribal support for the
current mismanagement of America's last wild herd.
Basically, the bill offers an ultimatum: neutered,
infertile buffalo that can never reproduce, or slaughtered buffalo,
who can also never reproduce. This herd is the last living link to the
millions that once thundered across the great plains; they are
genetically unique, and this heritage must be respected. Their
life-line must continue and be free to bring in the generations to
come. This bill stops them dead in their tracks, and brings
insult to the Indian people.
The House Agriculture Committee is expected to hear this
legislation as soon as next week, and your representatives need to
hear from you today. Representative Jonathan Windy Boy, a
Chippewa-Cree tribal member who sits on the committee, has spoken up
for the buffalo before, and with your encouragement, can stop this
ill-fated idea in its tracks.
TAKE ACTION MONTANA! Montana residents - and, please only
Montana residents - first and foremost should contact their House
representative and urge them to vote against SB 353. Please also
contact Rep. Windy Boy, and write a letter to the editor of Montana
newspapers, especially the Helena Independent Record, which is read by
legislators and the Governor. There is a hearing scheduled for
next Thursday, March 10, at 3pm in room 472 of the State Capitol in
Helena. Be there and speak up for the buffalo!
Call 406-444-4800 and asked to be transferred to your House
Representative. If you're not sure who your Rep. is, check this
map: http://nris.state.mt.us/gis/legislat/2005/
House Agriculture Committee:
http://leg.state.mt.us/css/committees/standing/Membership.asp?CommitteeID=616&HouseID=1&SessionID=88
Representative Jonathan Windy Boy: Call (406)444-4800 or
(406)395-4407
Send a Letter to the Editor:
http://buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/lte.html
View the Text and Status of SB 353:
http://data.opi.state.mt.us/bills/2005/billhtml/SB0353.htm
Thank you for taking action for the buffalo!
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* Buffalo Nickel Premature in Light of Yellowstone Buffalo
Slaughter
This week, the U.S. Mint issued a brand new buffalo nickel, in
part to commemorate the "conservation success" of the
American buffalo. Given the current status of wild buffalo in
this country, Buffalo Field Campaign views this celebration as
extremely premature. Some tout a figure of 500,000 bison in the
country, yet the majority of these buffalo live on ranches and are
raised as livestock. Most contain cattle genes. There are
only 15,000 genetically pure buffalo left in the country, and of
these, only 4,200 are unfenced and have an uninterrupted history of
occupying their native range. These are the wild buffalo of
Yellowstone, and given their treatment by Montana and federal
agencies, we find there is very little to celebrate. However,
the issuance of this new nickel gives us all an opportunity to educate
people on the plight of our last wild herd.
Please check out BFC's press release in response to the buffalo
nickel, and consider writing a letter to the editor of any newspaper,
underscoring the premature nature of this celebration. Remind
folks that once upon a time 30-60 million buffalo roamed the land, and
now the last wild herd is subject to harassment and slaughter.
Urge Americans and others to learn the truth about what has become of
this magnificent icon of Western America, and to take action on their
behalf.
BFC's Press Release:
http://buffalofieldcampaign.org/media/press0405/pressrelease0405/022805.html
Letters to the Editor tips and contacts:
http://buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/lte.html
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* Three Things You Can Do For
Buffalo This Week
1. Write to Montana's Governor, Brian
Schweitzer:
It is a "new Montana" as Governor Schweitzer likes to
say. Let that start with wild and free buffalo in Montana.
Share your vision with him, and demonstrate your support for buffalo
being treated with respect as a wildlife species in Montana.
Tell him that his decision to cancel the hunt was the right one.
Urge him to find solutions that involve better management of cattle,
and giving the buffalo room to breathe. Let him know that these
buffalo are a treasured asset, and they belong not to Montana, but to
all Americans. Finally, urge him to continue the dialogue with
BFC to find common-sense solutions that will end Montana's livestock
industry-driven buffalo slaughter once and for all. You can
reach Governor Schweitzer at: Montana State Capitol, Helena, MT
59620-0801 / Phone: 1-406-444-3111 / Fax: 1-406-444 5529 / E-mail:
Governor@state.mt.us
2. Write a Letter to the
Editor
The Yellowstone herd has been getting a lot of coverage in the
papers lately, and not all of it has been good. Issues such as
the population of the Yellowstone herd, the recently approved plan to
quarantine and kill 100 buffalo calves, the absence of a Native
American voice in any aspect of buffalo management, the Governor
making the right decision in cancelling the hunt, as well as his
ridiculous plan to rid the Park of all buffalo in a fruitless effort
to eradicate brucellosis must be addressed with real facts, the real
truth, underscored with the heart-felt emotion these amazing buffalo
inspire in all of us. Please visit our Letters to the Editor
page for tips and contact information for some key newspapers.
We can reach tens of thousands of people - including decision-makers -
with the buffalo's story using this medium. The time to write to
the media is now.
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/lte.html
3. Donate to BFC and Bid on a
Beautiful Buffalo Gourd Mask
~ Times are hard, and we need your help to keep our volunteers
fed, housed and in the field defending the last wild herd of buffalo
in America. Please consider making a cash donation to BFC
today. It is hard for us to ask, but the truth is, without your
generous donations, it would be impossible for us to be here with the
buffalo.
~ Right now, O'Ceallaigh Originals is
offering some beautiful gourd art for the buffalo at auction along
with an author-signed copy of Buffalo Medicine by April
Christofferson. The mask is a beautiful hand-crafted
one-of-a-kind with faux fur and glass and stone beadwork.
Many thanks to Mel and April for your generosity.
View a photo of the mask and place a bid here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20158&item=7303557668&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
The gourd mask will be EBay Item number 7303557668 through March
12.
Thank you for your support!
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* Last Words
"Sentiment without action is the ruin of the
soul"
~Ed Abbey
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--
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
to defend the last wild herd of buffalo in
America.
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Visit
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