Buffalo Field Campaign [ http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org ] Yellowstone Bison Update from the Field May 27, 2010 ------------------------------ ------------------------------ * Update from the Field * TAKE ACTION: Make Your Voice Heard for the Last Wild Herds * Coming Soon: Opportunity to Comment on Invasive Remote Vaccine Plan * BFC Looking for Summer Outreach Volunteers * BFC 2010 Newsletters Mailing Next Month! * Last Words * Kill Tally * Useful Links ------------------------------ ** Update from the Field* "MT Department of Livestock's helicopter chases buffalo off of private land where buffalo are welcome, but the DOL is not. BFC file photo by Stephany. Click ""here" [ https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/images/Heli_Galanis_5-27-10_seayBFC.jpg ]" for a larger image. " The Montana Department of Livestock, Yellowstone National Park, Gallatin National Forest and cooperating government agencies [ http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/politicians.html ] continued to wage their war against wild buffalo this week and have almost emptied Montana of buffalo,which they have also harassed within Yellowstone's "protective" boundaries. The landscape surrounding Yellowstone was teeming with the gentle giants, but now only the few who have escaped the press of the agents continue to graze on their chosen land. These few will also soon be gone. "Exhausted from hazing and with the DOL on on their tails, these buffalo try to take in more air by opening their mouths. BFC file photo by Stephany. Click ""here" [ https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/images/Exhausted_NBluffsGNF_seayBFC.jpg ]" for a larger image. " BFC has finished a new video, Buffalo's Trail of Tears [ http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/ ], that takes you on a brief yet profound visual journey that lends perspective on what the buffalo are going through as they endure the hazing operations that force them over many long miles of difficult terrain. This video conveys the tragedy of these cruel and unnecessary actions in a way that words can fail to do. Please share this footage with everyone you know. "Huge sign in front of the Galanis property on Horse Butte, Montana's largest buffalo safe zone. Unfortunately, the DOL repeatedly ignores the message. BFC file photo by Stephany. Click ""here" [ https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/images/BisonSafeZone_big_seayBFC.jpg ]" for a larger image. " Agents on horseback, aided by the DOL's helicopter and state and federal law enforcement, began another week of taxpayer funded buffalo harassment operations beginning on cattle-free public lands of Gallatin National Forest. Scores of buffalo mothers and calves [ https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/images/SSideHaze_5-25-10_PDB_BFC.jpg ], with their families were again forced off of portions of their habitat that will never see cattle. "A peaceful morning on Horse Butte, before the DOL arrives. More than a hundred buffalo graze, play and rest on the buffalo-friendly Galanis property. BFC file photo by Stephany. Click ""here" [ https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/images/BeforeAgentsArrive_5-27-10_seayBFC.jpg ]" for a larger image. " The DOL came back to assault buffalo on Horse Butte, on private lands where the presence of agents is unwelcome and greatly frowned upon. But buffalo are welcome here. The owners have posted many signs [ https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/images/BisonSafeZone_small_seayBFC.jpg ] warning against agent trespass but Department of Livestock agent Rob Tierney has repeatedly disregarded their wishes. He again trespassed with the helicopter, scaring off over 100 buffalo with nearly 50 newborn calves, as well as an injured mom and young bull we saw caught up in last week's haze. No doubt the incessant hazing has worsened their injuries. During the chaos of this haze, a mom and calf were separated. With tears in our eyes we watched the mama break off from the haze, with the helicopter hovering above her. But her need to find her calf was stronger than her fear. She ran back, grunting and bellowing, searching for her baby. The helicopter set its sights back on her herdmates. Not finding her calf, she stopped suddenly, sniffed the air and bolted back toward her fleeing family. Maybe she turned around because she smelled her baby, but we don't know if they reunited. The hazing from Horse Butte pushed buffalo along the north bluffs of the Madison River corridor, more public lands where cattle "never" graze. "A mama buffalo runs from the haze, searching for her lost calf. BFC file photo by Stephany. Click ""here" [ https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/images/Mama_Looks_for_Calf_seayBFC.jpg ]" for larger image. " As buffalo were being removed from their habitat outside the park, simultaneous hazing operations commenced "inside" Yellowstone National Park [ mailto:[email protected] ]. Agents on horseback and in the DOL's helicopter disturbed more buffalo, moving them further into Yellowstone's interior and terrorizing numerous species of wildlife in the process. Yesterday, before the haze reached Yellowstone's boundary, patrols observed a lone wolf dining on a fresh elk carcass. Before our human ears could hear the stampeding haze and helicopter, the wolf knew, and quickly fled. Today, agents were out again to harass some of the few buffalo left in Montana. With the helicopter, they searched for a mom, calf and yearling but were unable to find it. They then proceeded to haze four bull buffalo off of Highway 287 and through the Duck Creek corridor, back into Yellowstone. This portion of the Park is currently closed for the protection of grizzly bears, but the DOL acts above the law and frequently enters areas that are closed to everyone else. Agents later proceeded to the town of West Yellowstone to haze a bull buffalo that has been in and around town for weeks now, a thrill to residents, business owners and many tourists. Unfortunately, two tourists made an unwise decision and while the bull was bedded down, they poked him with a stick to get his attention for a photo! Instead of them getting a ticket for foolish behavior, the bull was chased out of town. But, he went his own way, rather than into Yellowstone, and he's back roaming with the residents once again. Volunteers also reported that three DOL agent trucks with horse trailers headed north out of town. The "threat" of brucellosis applies only Tuesday through Thursdays, apparently, so perhaps we and the buffalo that remain will have a quiet weekend. With the exception of three small hobby ranches that have yet to lease their land for summer cattle grazing, the public and private lands where these operations occur are cattle-free year-round. Even if there were cattle, their presence should preclude wild buffalo from accessing their native habitat. All of these lands should be open to buffalo as they are for other wildlife. Yet for these few ranchers' interests buffalo are chased from the lands that are their birthright. Montana is so eager to defend the interests of a few ranchers, but won't hesitate to step all over the private property rights of those who choose to live peaceably in the company of wild buffalo. "DOL agents and Forest Service law enforcement officer discuss what to do about BFC volunteers. Shortly after this discussion, the patrol following the haze was purposefully held back from the remainder of the operation. BFC file photo by Stephany. Click ""here" [ https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/images/Keep_BFC_From_Documenting__seayBFC.jpg ]" for larger image. " This season has also been a very trying one for BFC's interactions with law enforcement. Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs), many of them federal and brand-new to the scene, have been extra aggressive, incommunicative, and purposefully trying to prevent us from documenting these operations. They have been trying to keep us so far back that we cannot document. The LEOs bend over backwards for the DOL without question, and in the case of Forest Service and Park Service, act in violation of their agency missions while hiding behind the Interagency Bison Management Plan. And the agents who conduct the actual hazing have been fabricating stories, attempting to blame BFC for actions that are nobody's fault but their own. These agents - not BFC - are the ones entering areas where they are not welcome to harass wild buffalo, and consequently other area wildlife, causing animals - horses and wildlife alike - to become extremely agitated. Itching to arrest BFC volunteers, they make jokes about it, place bets, and issue frivolous orders and written warnings with no legal basis. We know this extra aggressive behavior and intolerance is because they are feeling the pressure of the end of their era. They don't want us to keep showing you what they are doing. But, they can't stop us. Not only do we have the legal rights as a media organization to document these government actions, we are always watching and recording, even when they think we aren't. ------------------------------ ** TAKE ACTION! Make Your Voice Heard for the Last Wild Herds * You can take action to help stop these atrocious actions against America's last wild buffalo from continuing. Please contact your Members of Congress, and speaking from your heart for the buffalo, ask them to develop habitat-based solutions that protect wild buffalo and their habitat. "Please ask your Senators and House Representative to:" 1. Stop using your tax dollars to fund Montana Department of Livestock and Yellowstone National Park operations that harm or lead to the slaughter of wild buffalo. 2. Use your tax dollars wisely by purchasing livestock grazing rights on land adjacent to Yellowstone National Park, which will open habitat for wild buffalo and other native wildlife forever. Write your Senator [ http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm ] Write your House Representative [ https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml ] ------------------------------ ** Coming Soon: Opportunity to Comment on Invasive Remote Vaccine Plan* Yellowstone National Park will soon release a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for a proposal to begin remotely vaccinating wild buffalo with an ineffective brucellosis vaccine. The remote vaccination would be conducted by shooting "bio-bullets" of vaccine at buffalo. The brucellosis vaccine they intend to use has neither been proven safe nor effective. The idea of vaccinating wild buffalo instead of developing an effective vaccine to use on cattle is another example of the cattle industry trying to shirk responsibility. Stay tuned for your opportunity to comment on this important issue and please read an excellent Opinion-Editorial by BFC's executive director Dan Brister - which was written in response to the DOL's buffalo vaccination program yet holds true for Yellowstone's proposal - on Why Vaccinating Wild Buffalo is Wrong [ http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/media/press0405/news0405/121304oped.html ]. Learn more [ http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/science/vaccinationprogram.html ] about the ill-effects of vaccinating wild buffalo. ------------------------------ ** BFC Looking for Summer Outreach Volunteers* Buffalo Field Campaign still has a few openings for summer education and outreach volunteers. If you can commit to spending three weeks with us, most of which will be spent inside Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks helping to educate Park visitors about what's happening to America's last wild buffalo, please contact us! Email [email protected] [ mailto:[email protected] ] or call 406-646-0070 with questions or to apply. Thank you! ------------------------------ ** BFC 2010 Newsletters Coming Soon!* Buffalo Field Campaign will be mailing our 2010 Newsletter next month and we want to make sure you receive one. If your mailing address has changed since you last heard from us, or if you're not on our list of supporters and would like to receive a newsletter, please contact us with your current address. Also, please let us know if you would like us to send multiple copies that you can distribute to friends, family, and in your community. Send your name, address, zip code, and email address to [email protected] [ mailto:[email protected] ] and we'll be sure to update our records. ------------------------------ * Last Words Buffalo hair, tracks and poops are nearly all that's left in the now haunted landscape to remind us that hundreds of beautiful wild buffalo were just here. BFC file photo by Stephany. Click here [ https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/images/BuffaloHair_WhatsLeftAfterDOL_seayBFC.jpg ] for a larger image. "When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters are polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then will you discover you cannot eat money." ~ Cree Prophecy Do you have submissions for Last Words? Send them to [email protected] [ mailto:[email protected] ]. Thank you all for the poems, songs and stories you have been sending; you'll see them here! ------------------------------ ** Kill Tally* *AMERICAN BUFFALO ELIMINATED from the last wild population in the U.S.* 2009-2010 Total: 6 2009-2010 Slaughter: 0 2009-2010 Hunt: 4 2009-2010 Quarantine: 0 2009-2010 Shot by Agents: 2* 2009-2010 Highway Mortality: 0 *Two bulls that were drugged by APHIS on 5/4/10 were shot by DOL later that evening. 2008-2009 Total: 22 2007-2008 Total: 1,631 Total Since 2000: 3,708* *includes lethal government action, quarantine, hunts, highway mortality ----------------------------- Media & Outreach Buffalo Field Campaign P.O. Box 957 West Yellowstone, MT 59758 406-646-0070 [email protected] [ mailto:[email protected] ] http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.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.*" KEEP BFC ON THE FRONTLINES WITH A TAX DEDUCTIBLE CONTRIBUTION TODAY [ https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/t/6876/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=3647 ] Join Buffalo Field Campaign [ http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/t/6876/signUp.jsp?key=3378 ] -- It's Free! Tell-a-Friend [ http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/tellafriend.jsp?tell_a_friend_KEY=3835 ] Take Action [ http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26453 ]! Unsubscribe [ http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/t/7926/p/salsa/supporter/unsubscribe/public/?unsubscribe_page_KEY=42 ] -- ROAM FREE!