More "Stuff" 3




"Any religion which is not based on a respect for life is not a true religion...
Until he extends his circle of compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace."
Albert Schweitzer







2006

The past two years have been very busy for the Buffalo Field Campaign. In addition to constantly monitoring the hazing practices of the DOL and the State of Montana, they have been keeping us all informed about the Buffalo Hunt sponsored by the State of Montana

9/08/2005: For the first time in 15 years, hunters will shoot Yellowstone bison as they exit the park on their seasonal migration into Montana. The Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks Commission adopted regulations for the 2005-2006 bison hunt at its meeting earlier today.

The Commission approved two seasons: one between Nov. 15, 2005 and Jan. 15, 2006 and another from Jan. 16, 2006 to Feb. 15, 2006. The hunts will take place along the park’s northern boundary near Gardiner, MT and along its western boundary near West Yellowstone. A total of 50 permits will be issued, including 10 already issued for last year’s cancelled hunt.

2/23/2006: On Friday, along Yellowstone's northern boundary in Gardiner, the National Park Service once again emptied the Stephens Creek bison trap. They sent the last 30 of 266 wild buffalo to slaughter, where they have died in horror like cattle, on cold concrete, without honor, without ceremony or respect. Yellowstone's latest kill resulted in the unnecessary slaughter of 849 wild buffalo. Management actions and hunters have killed 903 buffalo since September. And the Park Service has not only slaughtered wild buffalo, but they have handed over 86 wild calves to a government-funded quarantine experiment (see below, third section). These actions by the National Park Service are criminal. The NPS continues to ignore the public's outcry against the buffalo slaughter and when we question and challenge their actions, they only say "It's in the Plan." They dodge our questions, ignore our protest, and shirk their responsibility to protect the wild buffalo in their care.


For a more detailed information, click here.








Government management officials have plainly stated that without a significant outcry from the American public, the slaughter-dominated management practices will continue.
National Wildlife Federation

What is Brucellosis?






From This:


to this:







1996-7

The big, shaggy carcasses of buffalo continue to dot the Montana countryside despite government and Native American protests. On Thursday, a prayer was said outside Yellowstone National Park, asking for an end to the slaughter of animals in the nation's last free-roaming bison herd. Yet even as Native American medicine men passed a sacred buffalo pipe and prayed for the killings to end, Montana state riflemen gunned down another dozen animals, bringing this years bison death toll well above 1,000.

1998-9

Not much change!

5/15/2003

Today is May 15, the "zero tolerance" date for wild bison outside of Yellowstone National Park, according to the Interagency Bison Management Plan. Although the plan is an "adaptive management" plan which allows for discretion to be applied in hazing bison back into the Park before May 15, after today the plan calls for bison to be "captured or shot to ensure none remain outside the Park in the western boundary area during the applicable temporal separation period." Who knows if the fact that the grazing allotments on national forest on Horse Butte have been canceled will make a difference? So far the DOL and Forest Service have been hiding behind the private property excuse, and nobody knows if the Munns family plans to bring cattle to their private ranch on Horse Butte this June.



5/13/2004

May 15 is the "zero tolerance" date for wild bison outside of Yellowstone National Park, according to the Interagency Bison Management Plan. Although the plan is an "adaptive management" plan which allows for discretion to be applied in hazing bison back into the Park before May 15, after Saturday the plan calls for bison to be "captured or shot to ensure none remain outside the Park in the western boundary area during the applicable temporal separation period." Never mind the lack of public lands cattle allotments on Horse Butte or along the Madison River. Fortunately the Horse Butte Trap was dismantled and hauled away earlier this week, but the stakes for the last free ranging bison are about to be raised.

It is surprisingly difficult to find a buffalo outside of Yellowstone National Park these days. The relentless hazing has left little opportunity for the buffalo to follow their instincts. I miss hiking through the aspen groves and meadows of Horse Butte and finding small herds of buffalo roaming free, calves playfully running, mommas watching over their young, bulls butting heads. Buffalo these days are rarely left alone long enough to make the full trek to their calving grounds on Horse Butte.

TIME TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!








Thanks Linda






You CAN help! Please, write your feelings and send them to your local and national papers, members of Congress, Governor Racicot and President Bush. The Yellowstone buffalo are a heritage for future generations, activate your voice. These are NOT Montana's buffalo.

It is pressure from all citizens that will force the State of Montana to end this senseless harassment and slaughter of the Yellowstone herd. Speak out!








Opinion
By Carl D. Esbjornson
01/13/1999

Nothing has changed for over a hundred years. John Paugh's recent editorial letter attacking Todd Wilkinson consists of precisely the kind of spin-doctored half truths and evasions concerning the Yellowstone bison issue that I warned about in my last letter. The truth is that Mr. Paugh failed to specifically address most of Mr. Wilkinson's points:

He failed to address why a $500,000 bison capture facility is being built at taxpayer expense in bald eagle habitat without an EIS when cattle can be vaccinated against brucellosis at much lower cost. He failed to address why bison cannot winter outside Yellowstone National Park in an area that cattle will not use until June. Or why bison are being killed there when the nearest cattle are many miles away. He failed to address why bull bison are being killed when the only chance of transmission of brucellosis is through afterbirth from female bison. He failed to address why Montana continues its draconian bison policy even after APHIS relaxed its standards in the face of scientific evidence that transmission of brucellosis (which cattle brought here in the first place)is only a remote possibility. Or why Montana continues this policy despite the fact that cattle and brucellosis-infected elk have mingled in the Jackson Hole area for many years without one case of brucellosis transmission. He failed to address why Montana ignores fierce public opposition to its bison policy, especially when far better alternatives exist. This kind of thing has happened before. In the 1890s, the cattle industry, frightened by its waning influence in a Montana state Legislature dominated by mining interests, ran a public campaign against wolves and pressured the Legislature into passing a wolf bounty (even though wolves accounted for fewer depredations than all other predators). In that period up until 1918, 80,730 wolves were bountied for $342,764 at taxpayer expense. Many wolves were killed in remote areas far from cattle country.

Substitute Montana's bison policy for its wolf bounty policy and we can see that essentially nothing has changed for over a hundred years. The cattle industry still lusts for complete control of public lands so they can run their cows and kill all wildlife that gets in the way with impunity. That is yet another sad truth that Mr. Paugh fails to address.

-----end of letter-----






Bison are wildlife in Montana. The problem is that the Montana Department of Livestock has primary management authority over free-ranging bison. State laws which classify buffalo as livestock apply only to captive ranched bison. The legislative history of these laws make it clear that they were intended only to apply to domestic, captive, ranched bison. To prevent Montana from using the Horse Butte trap, I would strongly recommend a barrage of phone calls to the Governor's office, to the MDOL, and to the Forest Service. Ask the Forest Service to rescind the Special Use Permit issued to Montana to permit the construction and operation of the trap. MT can only use this trap if the federal government pays for it. The USDA came up with $225,000 for the installation and operation of the trap this year. Calls to the USDA would also be helpful. Demand that the USDA stop misusing your tax dollars, immediately cut off funding for the trap, and don't fund the trap in the future.

D.J. Schubert






Does anyone else see that it's all to common for Montana and the DOL to continue their misbehavior year in and year out?

I believe we must do what we can to protect one of our last remaining WILD resources - the Bison! Please contact Buffalo Nations and see what you can do to help! Wah doh!


GraWolfe





Background: Out of the Mist by Harry Bowden
(Please do not copy)