Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) News from the Field August 11, 2005

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In This Issue:
* Update From the Field--BFC Needs Your Help With Firewood!
* BFC Roadshows to Visit West and East Coasts
* Four More Days! Bison Hunt Comments Due 8/15
* Last Words

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* Update From the Field--BFC Needs Your Help With Firewood!

The prolonged drought, coupled with the intense heat of July and August, has led to extremely dry conditions in Montana and dozens of wildfires have flared up in the past week. White ash drifts from the sky like snow, leaving mottled grey patterns on every exposed surface. Smoke softens the sunlight, lending a dusk-like appearance to the noonday sun and painting the sunset with surreal rosy shades.

The dry and smokey heat of August doesn't lend itself easily to thoughts of January nights with the earth blanketed beneath feet of snow and the thermometer plunging down to 50 below zero. But we know it's coming. For the ninth straight winter our cabin above Hebgen Lake will be home to dozens of volunteers dedicating their every waking hour to standing with--and defending--the Yellowstone buffalo, America's last wild herd. After all the planning, preparation, and follow-up from our meeting with the governor we switched gears and began, in earnest, getting things ready for the coming season.

One of the more formidable tasks we face each Summer and Fall is the gathering of the innumerable cords of wood necessary to keep our volunteers warm through one of the most frigid climates in the country. Volunteers have spent most of the past two weeks cutting, gathering, and hauling firewood back to our cabin, working long hours under the hot sun. With a hard-working crew things were going extremely well, the pile of wood growing larger by the day.

That all changed on Tuesday, when the engine on our late-model green Dodge Ram pickup, our wood hauling machine, blew. This truck was a godsend, donated years ago by a kind man named Art, who made a special trip to Montana to help us fix a more minor problem a couple summers ago. Now, halfway through our wood-gathering chores, we're in need of a good work truck.

If you have a truck you'd like to donate to a great cause, or if you are able to make a monetary donation to help us purchase one (both are tax-deductible), we could really use the help. With Montana's planned bison hunt scheduled to begin in November on both the north and west boundaries of Yellowstone, we're going to need to run two camps at once. With our focus on raising adequate funds to cover the additional expenses, the need for a new truck couldn't have been more ill-timed.

Please help us if you can. Our ninth season promises to be challenging. We need to keep our focus on protecting the buffalo by developing and implementing a winning strategy for their long-term protection. If you have truck to donate or if you want to help with a monetary donation, please do so today!

Make a secure donation from our web site: http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org

or send a check through the mail: BFC PO Box 957 West Yellowstone, MT 59758

A hearty thanks goes out to Art and the green Ram. Your generous gift kept us warm and dry for years.

With the Buffalo!

BFC

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* BFC Gearing up for West and East Coast Roadshows

From mid-August until mid-September Mike and Josh will travel the West Coast, visiting farmer's markets and giving presentations in communities from Los Angeles to Eugene. We've got great events scheduled, including benefits in the Bay Area with Native American musician and activist John Trudell and activist and speaker Julia Butterfly Hill.

Dan and Stephany will take to the road in October, travelling from North Carolina to Vermont, visiting colleges, cafes, and community centers with our video footage, stories, and inspiring message of buffalo protection.

For more information on the West and East Coast tours, click the link below, email bfc-media@wildrockies.org or call (406) 646-0070

http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/aboutus/roadshows2005.html

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* Four More Days! Bison Hunt Comments Due 8/15 For more information on the proposed hunt and talking points for your comments, please check our web site at: http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/legislative/bisonhuntingbill.html

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* Last Words "For seven years in a row, precipitation remained below normal. The snow that fell on the plowed-up fields of the Dakotas was so light that the ground, bereft of insulation, froze many feet down; the snow evaporated without penetrating and the spring rains, those that came, slid off the frozen ground into the rivers, leaving the land bare. The virgin prairie, grazed well within its carrying capacity by thirty million buffalo, could probably have withstood the wind and drought; ravaged by too many cattle and plowed up to make way for wheat, it could not. If not the worst man-made catastrophe in history, it was, at least, the quickest."

Marc Reisner on the Dust Bowl from Cadillac Desert


Buffalo Field Campaign PO Box 957 West Yellowstone, MT 59758
(406) 646-0070 bfc-media@wildrockies.org http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org

http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/media/update0405/080105.html

Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) News from the Field July 14, 2005

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In This Issue:
* Montana Resumes Plans for Bison Hunt--Public Comments Due 8/15
* Last Words: Revisiting the 1990 Hunt

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* Montana Resumes Plans for Bison Hunt--Public Comments Due 8/15

Background:

Last winter, the actions of the Buffalo Field Campaign community were instrumental in derailing Montana's ill-advised plans to "hunt" bison when they migrate out of Yellowstone National Park. BFC's campaign to cancel the 2005 hunt generated hundreds of letters, phone calls, and emails to Montana's newly elected governor, resulted in hundreds of buffalo-friendly people applying for hunting permits with the intention of using them to keep buffalo alive; and insured that the hunt would be covered on all the major national news networks. Montana's newly elected Governor Brian Schweitzer, aware of the black eye that a hunt would bring to Montana, acted quickly to cancel the hunt. Unfortunately, the Montana Department of Fish Wildlife and Parks (FWP) has decided to push forward with a hunt during the 2005-2006 winter. We must be even more resolute this year if we are to stop the hunt a second time.

Current Status:

The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) Commission set tentative regulations for Montana's first buffalo hunt in nearly 15 years at their meeting in early July 2005. The Commission voted to establish a two-part buffalo season beginning November 15, 2005 and continuing until February 15, 2006. 25 either sex permits would be issued for the first two-month period with an additional 25 permits for the last month. Eight of the permits in each hunting period will be given to Montana's native tribes as mandated by state law. According to FWP, the Environmental Assessment (EA) conducted last year is sufficient for the new hunting rules and therefore, no additional analysis will be conducted this year. Instead the agency will issue a revised decision notice that is not subject to public comment. Although comments will be taken by FWP on the tentative season and regulations, the decision to implement the hunt is apparently not subject to public review.

This latest incarnation of a buffalo hunt in Montana is still nothing more than an affirmation that Montana will not tolerate wild buffalo in the state. As the policy is currently laid out, wild buffalo entering Montana will remain under the authority of the Montana Department of Livestock (DOL). The DOL's only "concession" to the buffalo is to refrain from hazing, capturing and killing them for the three months that hunters will shoot any buffalo that wanders out of Yellowstone National Park. Unless more than 25 buffalo are out of the Park in either period or if any buffalo wanders past the allotted area, the DOL may decide to haze or capture the buffalo leading to a temporary suspension of the hunt. In either case, any wild buffalo that enters Montana between November 15 and February 15 will be killed for following their migratory instincts. Beginning February 16 the DOL will implement a massive capture, test and slaughter program with the goal of transporting 100 buffalo calves that test negative for brucellosis antibodies to the quarantine facility near Gardiner, Montana. The DOL, together with the National Park Service, will likely capture well over 500 buffalo throughout the winter and spring to reach their goal of 100 calves for quarantine. The agencies (including the same FWP game wardens that will administer the hunt) will continue to terrorize one of the most sensitive ecosystems in the United States with daily hazing operations that include low-flying helicopters, snowmobiles, ATV's, trucks and horses. Many buffalo will be needlessly killed or injured until the landscape is completely empty of buffalo. Those that do survive the spring will have next year's hunt to look forward to before the hammer of the livestock industry once again falls without impunity in the following spring.

The buffalo hunt is still completely unacceptable for all of the same reasons it was last year. In fact, this year's proposal will lead to more buffalo being killed in the fall than under current operations. In essence, the addition of a buffalo hunt will completely eliminate any and all wild buffalo that enter Montana. The FWP Commission's decision is nothing more than a political whitewash that will not succeed in hiding the ugliness and blatant injustice of the current policies. Three significant criteria highlight problems with the proposed hunt. First, wild buffalo in Montana should be under the sole management authority of FWP. The Dept. of Livestock has no rightful business managing wildlife, particularly the last wild buffalo herd in the United States. Second, buffalo must be given access to sufficient habitat in Montana where they can establish resident herds. In other words, "No Habitat, No Hunt!" Third, Native American tribes throughout the region must be included and involved in the decision making process for the management of wild buffalo that migrate outside of Yellowstone National Park. A long-term comprehensive management plan should be developed that includes all of the interested parties, especially traditional Native Americans who maintain a relationship with the buffalo that transcends modern wildlife management theories and practices.


Take Action for the Buffalo!
* Let the FWP Commission know that a buffalo hunt in Montana is simply not acceptable under the current conditions. Help the Commissioners see that this "hunt" can only lead to a black eye for Montana. Send your comments by Aug. 15 to: Attn. Bison Hunt Regulations, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, 1400 S. 19th Ave., Bozeman, MT 59718, or via Email to: fwpwld@mt.gov.

* Call or write Montana's Governor, Brian Schweitzer. Let Governor Schweitzer know that a buffalo hunt is a big mistake for Montana. Encourage Gov. Schweitzer to develop a long-term comprehensive management plan for the buffalo that includes traditional Native American voices and wisdom. Contact Governor Schweitzer by mail: Office of the Governor, PO Box 200801, State Capitol, Helena MT 59620-0801; phone: 406-444-3111; or fax 406-444-5529
* Apply for a permit to hunt a buffalo and don't use it! According to FWP, permits will likely be offered to the public through a lottery by the end of September. With more permits being offered than before, your chances of getting a permit to save a buffalo are significant. Look for more information about applying for a buffalo permit in future updates and on our website.

Talking Points

* Before a hunt is considered, wild buffalo must be given the respect of being considered a recovered resident native wildlife species in Montana, where they are currently "managed" aggressively by the Department of Livestock as a "nuisance animal in need of disease control."
* Tribal consultation should be sought and treaty rights upheld before any hunt is considered.
* Shooting buffalo is like shooting a parked car. They do not give "fair chase" like deer or elk. Don't forget the last time Montana thought it was a good idea to "hunt" Yellowstone buffalo, the public outcry caused a huge black eye for Montana.
* The plan does not consider the real possibility of a future for wild Montana buffalo in which they are not killed in the gateway communities.
* FWP claims that hunters will be doing a service to the local communities by removing "problem" buffalo that are causing damage to private property and threatening human safety. Almost no property damage is caused by buffalo migrating into Montana with the exception of damage caused when DOL agents haze buffalo through people's fences on private property.
* The preferred alternative sets the dangerous precedent of putting the Department of Livestock in charge of the hunting of a Montana big game species.

It is important that you write an original letter, rather than cut and paste our talking points.
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* Last Words: Revisiting the 1990 Hunt "I missed and I got his arm. Then I went for it again and I got him down around his shoulder and then he staggered and walked a little ways and then I shot him in the neck and that killed him off."

A participant in Montana's 1990 bison hunt describing the experience of maiming and killing a bull.

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** The Buffalo Field Campaign needs your support in opposing this year's hunt. Take the action outlined above and make a tax-deductible contribution so we can build an effective campaign to derail the hunt like we did last year. Make a secure online contribution by clicking the Donate Now! button at: http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org

Or send a donation to the following address. Together we are making a difference!

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Buffalo Field Campaign PO Box 957 West Yellowstone, MT 59758
(406) 646-0070 bfc-media@wildrockies.org http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org

The Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act, Bill H.R. 2428, was just introduced to Congress, and Referred to the Forests and Forest Health Subcommitee, To Preserve The Last Remaining, and Genetically Pure, American Buffalo, by allowing herd to freely roam defined Federal land outside of the Park.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/634566106


Informant: DitziSis

Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC)
* Special Memorial Day Update
May 30, 2005

* Update from the Field

This update is dedicated to the 98 buffalo slaughtered since October, to the 17 young buffalo currently serving the first of their five-year sentence in a quarantine prison near Gardiner, MT, and to the more than twenty buffalo killed on highway 191 after being repeatedly forced from their birthing grounds across the busy highway. We honor the lessons these buffalo gift us with on patrol.

We would also like to honor three special families in the local community who have made our patrols with the buffalo possible and our lives here easier. Each of these families has suffered difficult losses in the past few years. Sylvia Nottingham, Phil Morton, and Jesse Stovall were all part of the BFC family and their families continue to do everything they can for the buffalo and the BFC.

Take a minute to honor these buffalo supporters with us:
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/aboutus/artthoughts/memorial.html


Buffalo Field Campaign
PO Box 957
West Yellowstone, MT 59758
(406) 646-0070
bfc-media@wildrockies.org
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org