Buffalo Field Campaign [ http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org ] Yellowstone Bison Update from the Field--addendum August 26, 2010 BFC Supporters, A technical problem resulted in the "Take Action" section of today's Update being cut. We are resending the affected section in its entirety. Sorry for the inconvenience. ------------------------------ Bison Advocates Tour Livestock Grazing Allotment Critical for Wild Bison On August 4 Buffalo Field Campaign organized a field trip with local Montanans to view cattle grazing on the Gardiner Ranger District of the Gallatin National Forest. Gardiner District Ranger Mary Maj and Steven Schacht, vegetation staff, joined us to discuss the Forest's plans and to get local concerns for wild buffalo habitat on the Forest's radar. Two permittees, James and Larry Stands and Lewis and Jill Wilks, operate the Three Peaks Ranch and run a total of 260 cow calf pairs and 10 horses on the Slip & Slide grazing allotment from June 16 through October 15. Slip & Slide covers 6,750 Gallatin National Forest acres and is the last public lands grazing allotment east of the Yellowstone River in the Gardiner basin, prime buffalo habitat and a major wildlife corridor. The third permittee, Franklin and Susan Rigler, who operate the Dome Mountain Ranch, waived their portion of the Slip & Slide allotment to the Forest who allocated the cow calf pairs to Three Peaks Ranch. Rigler leases his private land for the Slip & Slide bison quarantine pen near Dome Mountain run by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The Slip & Slide permit is due to expire at the end of 2010. The Interagency Bison Management Plan agencies classify the Slip & Slide as Zone 3 due to the presence of cattle and bison quarantine pens at Corwin Springs and Slip & Slide. Wild bison are prohibited from occupying any habitat in Zone 3, at any time of year, despite the fact bison migrate to these habitats on the Gallatin National Forest. Several buffalo have been shot for venturing into Zone 3 in the Gardiner basin. Gardiner basin is a critical wildlife corridor providing habitat for mule deer, one of the largest elk herds in North America, bighorn sheep, a small genetically isolated population of pronghorn antelope, and migratory bison. Grizzly bears and wolves are not far behind one of the largest migrations of wild ungulates in the lower 48 states. One of the things we learned on the field trip is the Gardiner Ranger District's intent to annually renew the permit without performing an environmental analysis (last done in 1991) due to cutbacks in Congressional funding. The Forest's legal analysis may not come for years. TAKE ACTION! Please email Gallatin National Forest Supervisor Mary C. Erickson at: [email protected] or call her at 406-587-6703 and ask her to perform a suitability analysis to close the Slip & Slide grazing allotment. The Forest should manage the habitat for native populations of wildlife including migratory bison, mule deer, elk, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn antelope. Gardiner basin provides critical habitat for grizzly bears and Yellowstone cutthroat trout. Wolves have been sighted on the Forest, along with rare species of trumpeter swan, peregrine falcon, pygmy owl, golden eagle, northern goshawk and osprey. ------------------------------ Media & Outreach Buffalo Field Campaign P.O. Box 957 West Yellowstone, MT 59758 406-646-0070 [email protected] 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 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! --