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Buffalo Field Campaign
April 2, 2009
Bill to Prevent
Relocation of
Quarantined
Buffalo Tabled
April 2, 2009. A state
bill that would have prevented
quarantined Yellowstone buffalo
from being relocated was tabled
in the Montana House of
Representatives. This bill,
crafted by livestock interests,
would have prevented even
disease-free buffalo from
gaining any ground on their
native range. While BFC
vehemently opposes the
state-federal quarantine
project, which captures and
orphans wild bison calves in a
scheme to "create a disease-free
herd" we found it extremely
revealing that livestock
interests rejected even
brucellosis-free buffalo from
stepping out of confinement,
proving that this whole war
against buffalo is about grass,
not disease.
After the bill was killed,
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
issued a
decision
notice
that bison translocation would
take place. This month, 41
buffalo from the quarantine
facility will be transported to
the Wind River Indian
Reservation in central Wyoming,
where the Northern Arapaho
people will welcome them home.
We are pleased that the Tribe
will be the caretakers of these
buffalo who have been through so
much turmoil in the hands of the
government. They will be in
good hands and will eventually
have 30,000 acres on which to
roam. But, we feel that the
quarantine project is a very
disrespectful way for the
government to "give" buffalo to
First Nations. First Nations
and the buffalo deserve better.
The quarantined buffalo have
been captured with their
families and the adult members
have been shipped to slaughter.
The orphaned calves are trucked
to a facility just a few miles
from where they once roamed
Yellowstone. They are held
captive in small paddocks
surrounded by two fences, one
being electric. They are fed
hay, ear tagged, and regularly
handled and tested like
livestock. More than half of
the young buffalo that have
entered the facility have been
slaughtered for study's sake.
Those that survive are placed
into breeding programs. The
government claims that when the
survivors are ready for release,
they will "teach them how to be
wild."
The livestock industry, having
attempted to block the
relocation of even disease-free
buffalo that have gone through
this rigorous torture gauntlet
has certainly revealed its true
colors. While we are glad that
these buffalo will be going to
the Northern Arapaho rather than
being killed, there are better
ways to restore buffalo.
Instead of accepting the
government's idea of quarantine,
Tribes and buffalo advocates
should work together to create
migration corridors that would
allow buffalo to walk back to
their native lands on their own
four feet, while the government
should monitor the cattle
industry and ensure that
livestock stays out of the
buffalo's way. For more
information on the harmful
effects of quarantining wild
buffalo visit
this link.
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*
Last Words
"Meanwhile, [Montana Senator
John] Brenden Friday urged
people to continue fighting the
spread of wild bison across
Montana. 'The main thing is the
people need to keep putting
pressure on the agencies and the
governor's office so we don't
get these bison translocated in
Montana,' he said."
From a 3/28/09
Bozeman
Daily Chronicle article
on the death of the quarantine
bill
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Buffalo
Field Campaign Update
Working to save the bison at Yellowstone National Park
April 30, 2009. It has been an intense week for
buffalo. BFC volunteers are out in the field and on the road with the
buffalo nearly 24 hours a day. If you are able to join us on the front
lines, please see our call for volunteers below. The buffalo and BFC need
you!
Near Gardiner, along Yellowstone's north boundary, National Park Service and
Department of Livestock agents have been actively hazing various groups of
buffalo. Multiple management actions aimed to appease cattle interests
have been taking place within this enormous wildlife migration corridor.
So far, there have been no buffalo captured. Yesterday, four bulls were hazed
back to Yellowstone, and again today, Park Rangers hazed 32 buffalo to just
outside the Roosevelt Arch. Other groups of buffalo are around the
Gardiner area, including some in town.
On the western boundary, a few bull bison were hazed back into Yellowstone
National Park earlier this week by Montana Department of Livestock (DOL) agents.
The buffalo's "crime" was in stepping onto the private land of the Koelzer
family, who allows the DOL to operate the Duck Creek bison trap on their
property. Like so many other obstacles the buffalo must face, the Koelzer
property and other houses with fenced in yards block a migration route favored
especially by bull bison.
There has been a large bachelor group of bull bison roaming the area near Duck
and Cougar Creeks, along Highways 191 and 287 this week; they are massive and
incredibly impressive. BFC has been with these bulls every day and through the
nights, warning traffic of their presence. Buffalo have no qualms about walking
right down the middle of the road, sometimes side by side in numbers, taking the
highway over. It's a beautiful sight; this is their land and they are happy to
remind us of it. Numerous travelers can't help but pull over in admiration;
being in the presence of North America's largest land mammals is truly an
awesome experience. It is shameful and sad that these magnificent creatures who
have been around for over 10,000 years are forced to abandon their ancient
practices, and unwillingly yield to the selfish wishes of Montana's cattle
industry. So far, other than the challenges of fences and traffic, these bulls
have been left alone, but we don't trust that the DOL will leave them in peace
for long.
Along the south side of the Madison River, the DOL, National Park Service,
Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks, and U.S. Forest Service, with aid from Gallatin
County law enforcement, have been hazing buffalo in earnest, all week.
According to the new adaptive changes to the IBMP, 30 buffalo are allowed to be
in this area, but they only have a few miles of ground where they are
"tolerated." These tolerance zones are meaningless to buffalo who know no
man-made borders. They continued their migration and agents began to haze them
when they approached private property owned by someone who does not like bison,
about a mile from Idaho's border. View BFC's footage
here. The panting and terrified buffalo were run by agents on snowmobiles
and in trucks down busy Highway 20, through barbed wire fences and deep snow,
before losing them in the thick forests along the Madison River. This area is
always a challenge for the agents; the woods are wide and thick and the clever
buffalo lose the agents every time. So today the DOL brought out their ATVs and
helicopter and proceeded to disrupt the ecosystem. Approximately 29 buffalo,
including many pregnant mamas, fled through the forest to escape the thumping
blades of the chopper. In the course of the haze, the DOL apparently scared up
two grizzly bears, who were disrupted by the pounding helicopter and yelling
agents. Hazing operations harm not only buffalo, but all of the creatures who
live in this ecosystem including wolves, moose, elk, Sand Hill cranes, bald and
golden eagles, fox, badgers, and more.
Bison continue to make their way in and out of the Park, to and from Horse Butte
and surrounding areas, having to
cross Highway 191 to access critical habitat. We are continuously out on
the roads, putting up our hot pink warning signs, and helping prevent
bison/vehicle collisions. We are pleased to report that there have been no more
bison highway mortalities. Unfortunately, one of our "Buffalo Crossing" signs
was vandalized by an unknown antagonist. We are making attempts to fix it, but
we may need to purchase a new one.
We expect that agents will be out harassing buffalo full time, through the end
of May or even beyond. Even though there is not a cow in sight, and there has
never been a case of wild bison transmitting brucellosis to them anyway. The
mismanagement of America's last wild population of bison must end. Please, if
you have not already done so,
contact President Barack Obama and urge him to take positive action for
these gentle grazers who can heal the wounded land.
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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. BFC provides room, board, training, and
gear; the ecosystem provides the magic and mystery. If you are interested,
please contact Brock, 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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* Calling All Horse People!
Horse lovers are needed to take action for the buffalo! The May '09 issue of
Western Horseman has an article in it called "When the Buffalo Roam." The
article glorifies the Department of Livestock's role in bison harassment,
romanticizing the violent actions these so-called cowboys make when they haze
buffalo year after year. The article is completely one-sided, sugar-coated, and
frankly twisted, to say the least. Unfortunately, the article is not posted
online without a subscription. Please visit your local newsstand, pick up a
copy, and write a letter to the editor of Western Horseman, and help tell the
truth of what these "cowboys" are really doing.
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* Last Words
"... they have the huge rump-like hump, the giant head, the eyeball the size
of a billiard ball. What's not to like?"
~Padgett Powell
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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: 15
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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