WILDLIFE MISMANAGEMENT

Last Day to Comment for Bison!!

2012-01-13T10:51:00.000-07:00

Draft Joint Environmental Assessment Adaptive Management Adjustments to the Interagency Bison Management Plan.

BFC file photo

Montana's proposed action would cause further harm to a majority of wild buffalo migrating in the Gardiner Basin. Wild bison would be harassed in winter range necessary for their survival, captured, tagged, crowded and confined into traps for extended periods - including during calving - fed hay in feedlot conditions worse than Wyoming's harmful elk feed grounds, vaccinated with a livestock vaccine that was never developed nor licensed for use in wild buffalo. Montana falsely claims that their proposed objective is to "maintain a wild, free-ranging population of bison." Their words and proposed action are incongruent. The government's language is intended to indoctrinate the public into accepting a gross contradiction of reality.

The environmentally preferred alternative is absent from this proposal. While it exists, it has been blatantly ignored by the government since 2000. This sensible alternative is overwhelmingly supported by the public and calls for managing wild buffalo as valued native wildlife, conservation of historic migration corridors, additional habitat acquisitions, and managing livestock where wildlife/livestock conflicts exist. This alternative has been ignored or rejected by Montana and other government agencies involved in the highly controversial Interagency Bison Management Plan since 2000, but it should be brought to the forefront and adopted immediately. (quoted from BFC website)

Click Here To Send Your Comments TODAY and Tell Montana Hay Bales Are Not Habitat!

Comments Needed! WY Wolf Plan

2012-01-11T13:27:00.000-07:00

Photo: Britannica Advocacy for Animals

"Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead recently concluded an agreement with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to save 100 to 150 wolves in lands near Yellowstone National Park. But in the remaining 80% of the state, wolves can be killed year-round because they are considered vermin. Roughly 60% of Wyoming's 350 wolves will become targeted for elimination." LA Times

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removal of the Gray Wolf in Wyoming From the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Removal of the Wolf Population's Status as an Experimental Population; Proposed Rule

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or USFWS), are 
proposing to remove the gray wolf (Canis lupus) in Wyoming from the 
List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. This rule focuses on the 
Wyoming portion of the Northern Rocky Mountain (NRM) Distinct 
Population Segment (DPS), except where discussion of the larger Greater 
Yellowstone Area (GYA) or NRM metapopulation (a population that exists 
as partially isolated sets of subpopulations) is necessary to 
understand impacts to wolves in Wyoming. The best scientific and 
commercial data available indicate that wolves in Wyoming are recovered 
and no longer meet the definition of endangered or threatened under the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Wyoming's wolf 
population is stable, threats are addressed, and a post-delisting 
monitoring and management framework has been developed. However, 
additional changes to Wyoming State law and Wyoming Game and Fish 
Commission regulations are necessary for implementation. We expect the 
State of Wyoming to adopt the necessary statutory and regulatory 
changes within the next several months. If this proposal is finalized, 
the gray wolf would be delisted in Wyoming, the nonessential 
experimental population designation would be removed, and future 
management for this species, except in National Parks and National 
Wildlife Refuges, would be conducted by the appropriate State or Tribal 
wildlife agencies. We seek information, data, and comments from the 
public about this proposal including the post-delisting monitoring and 
management framework.

DATES: Public Comments: We will accept comments received or postmarked 
on or before January 13, 2012. Please note that if you are using the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES), the deadline for submitting 
an electronic comment is 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on this

date.
    Public Hearing: We will hold a public hearing on this proposed rule 
on November 15, 2011, as well as an informational open house 
immediately preceding the public hearing.

Click here to comment

Support No Cattle Grazing in Gallatin Nat'l Forest

2012-01-05T10:13:00.001-07:00

The following is from BFC.

No more cattle grazing in wild buffalo habitat! It's time to remove cattle from Gallatin National Forest to make room for these handsome and ecologically critical native bovines.
Photo courtesey of Sandy Sisti. Click photo for larger image.

The Gallatin National Forest Hebgen Lake Ranger District is proposing to renew a 10 year permit to graze cattle within the wild American buffalo's habitat on the South Fork and Watkins Creek in Hebgen Basin, west of Yellowstone National Park. The South Fork of the Madison River is prime buffalo habitat and buffalo migrate through the Gallatin National Forest not far from Watkins Creek. Buffalo migrating west of the South Fork have been shot by private landowners and Montana livestock officials as the habitat is currently designated Zone 3 ("zero tolerance") by the Interagency Bison Management Plan agencies including the Gallatin National Forest.

Please tell Gallatin National Forest that you support the "No Grazing Alternative" to help protect habitat for wild buffalo! Comments are due by January 20, 2012.

TAKE ACTION NOW!

REMINDER: There's just over a week left to comment on Montana's Gardiner Basin proposal and more actions you can take for the buffalo are also below.

Thank you so much for being a voice for America's last wild buffalo!

BFC Honored as "Small Green Group That Makes a Big Difference"

2011-12-30T19:39:00.001-07:00

Buffalo Field Campaign is proud to be named one of "Ten Small Green Groups That Make a Big Difference" in a recent CounterPunch article written by Jeffrey St. Clair.

The article features ten grassroots groups who "stand up for what they stand on, who put protection of the environment before politics. They all operate close to the bone, their meager budgets are spent on activism and litigation, not on self-promoting direct mail operations, glitzy offices or bloated administrative expenses. These groups will put your money to work defending the planet."

On BFC and the crisis facing wild North American bison St. Clair says "Since 1985, the federal government, working in concert with Montana cattle barons, has killed more than 6,800 bison that have migrated out of Yellowstone National Park. The slaughter is rationalized on the specious grounds of preventing the spread of brucellosis from bison to local cows. Buffalo Field Campaign has exposed this dreadful bloodbath as a political hoax. Their volunteers courageously place themselves between the bison and their would-be killers. They spend all day, from sunrise until sunset, watching and documenting actions taken against the buffalo. They run patrols from cars, skis and snowshoes to protect buffalo outside the park. Their tactics range from video documentation to nonviolent civil disobedience."

Looking ahead to 2012 and the struggles we know await us there, we are honored to have earned such praises. More importantly, we are honored and indebted to each of you for sharing the bison's story with your friends, families, and co-workers; for picking up the phone and firing up your computers time and time again to take action for the buffalo; for putting your lives on hold to join us in the field to patrol the Yellowstone boundary; and for making Buffalo Field Campaign's every action possible through your financial contributions and steadfast support.

If you have made a recent donation we thank you. If not, please consider contributing any amount within your means. We will put your contribution to good use funding Buffalo Field Campaign frontlines field patrols and defending the buffalo in the courts and in the policy arena. Please click one of these buttons or send a check to the address below. Buffalo Field Campaign could not exist without you.

Show Your Support!
Make a 2011 tax-deductible contribution or purchase BFC's beautiful 2012 Wild Bison Calendar.

Buffalo Field Campaign
PO Box 957
West Yellowstone, MT 59758

Read what others are saying about BFC
and post a review of your own!

Santa's Reindeer Certified Brucellosis Free!

2011-12-09T19:40:00.001-07:00

Rene Carlson, American Veterinary Medical Association president gave all 9 reindeer a check up and has found them to be free of brucellosis. Now they and Santa can fly anywhere in the world, including Montana and not cause any states in the US to lose their brucellosis free status. Read More...

Wolf Art Gifts

2011-12-04T17:44:00.001-07:00

Here are some designs I've made.
You can also check out Wolf Warriors store.

Wolf Tracks by evavincentarts
Browse cases for the iphone

Protect Gray Wolf by evavincentarts
Browse more Gray Bumper Stickers

Buffalo Art Gifts

2011-11-30T21:57:00.001-07:00

Bison on Landscape by evavincentarts
View other Bison Posters

Choose from a variety of styles and colors!

FWP Suggests Giving Bison to MT Tribes

2011-11-30T20:19:00.001-07:00

Today FWP Director, Joe Maurier signed an official "Record of Decision"

suggesting that 68 bison held in quarantine be relocated to the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation near Malta and the Fort Peck Indian Reservation near Wolf Point respectively. Last January Maurier wasn't so keen on this idea. In his own words during a commission meeting,

If we give them [buffalo] to another nation, it could be seen as the ultimate in privatization. So, until we can resolve that issue, I will not be able to do much. But it's still under consideration.

Also, in January there were other relocation sites considered. Bob Marshall Wilderness Area and Spotted Dog Wildlife Management Area. Again Maurier considered these areas because he was looking for appropriate areas that couldsupport huntable populations of at least 50 bison. 50 is a "huntable population?" How many tags would be sold?

Now, however these sites were rejected by many neighboring landowners, livestock producers, local governments, and hunters. Hunters? How ironic.

If the bison are moved onto Tribal lands the bison, like the people, will still be subjected to the rules and regs of the federal government.

The following is from a media release by FWP

Accordingly, management-plan agreements for each tribal site must include commitments to: (1) continue disease testing for five years, (2) properly contain bison, (3) immediately respond to any escapes of bison, and (4) provide Montana with disease-free bison for future conservation efforts. There are no infrastructure costs for FWP to pay associated with the recommended tribal lands.

FWP Commission will decide on this at its meeting in Helena on Dec. 9. If approved the bison could be moved this winter. I hope they are moved. This would be one step closer in the right direction toward restoring what the US government tried to eliminate 200 years ago.

Albert Einstein Was Right About Caring For Animals!

2011-11-30T18:49:00.001-07:00

A human being is a part of a whole, called by us _universe_, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

Albert Einstein

Support HR 3432!

2011-11-17T18:51:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday, November 16, H.R. 3432, the Rural Economic Vitalization Act (REVA), was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representative Adam Smith (D-WA-9th) and six original cosponsors.

This bill would allow federal grazing permittees to voluntarily relinquish their grazing permits back to the managing federal agency in exchange for compensation paid by a third party.

Grazing permit retirement is a voluntary, non-regulatory, market-based solution to public lands grazing conflicts. Permittees determine if and when they want to retire their grazing permits. Permittees and third parties separately agree how much a permittee will be paid for relinquishing their permit. And federal agencies facilitate the transaction by immediately retiring grazing permits received from a permittee. The Rural Economic Vitalization Act caps the total number of grazing permits that may be retired each year at 100.

Send a letter urging your House Representative to cosponsor this bill!
Click here to go to letter

Cows with Guns

2011-08-04T15:21:00.000-06:00

Grizzly Lawsuit May Help Wild Buffalo

2011-07-21T15:46:00.000-06:00

View this email in your web browser

Buffalo Field Campaign is the only group working in the field
and in the policy arena to protect America's last wild buffalo.

Buffalo Field Campaign

Yellowstone Bison
Update from the Field
July 21, 2011

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* Update from the Field
* Join BFC for Wood Cut Week September 5-11
* Lawsuit: Helicopter Hazing of Buffalo Harms Grizzly Bears
* BFC's Wild Bison 2012 Calendar Now Available
* Please Respond to APHIS' Claim of "Protecting" Wildlife
* By the Numbers
* Last Words

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* Update from the Field

A graceful and gentle giant, this bull buffalo grazes among the summer flowers, shedding his winter wool. Photo by Barbara Magnuson and Larry Kimball, used with permission. Barbara's and Larry's photos are featured in our Wild Bison 2011 and 2012 calendars! Click photo for larger image.

Many thanks to everyone who contacted Dr. Marty Zaluski of the Montana Department of Livestock about the agency's unnecessary lethal action against a bull buffalo on Independence Day weekend. It is crucial that the Livestock Department hears from people and is kept aware that we are all paying close attention to and actively opposing their every move against America's last wild buffalo population.

Last week BFC joined with our powerful allies Western Watersheds Project to intervene in a lawsuit by Park County and the Park County Stockgrower's Association. These two anti-buffalo entities seek to prevent wild buffalo from accessing temporary habitat in the Gardiner Basin, north of Yellowstone National Park. BFC and WWP hope to help Montana move forward with this long-overdue plan to allow the buffalo a little bit of room to roam north of park boundaries.   Read the full press release.

The Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP) agencies will be holding meetings on August 4-5. For the first time ever, the meetings will be held on tribal land and hosted by the Confederated Salish-Kootenai Tribes. It will be very interesting to see how the typical arrogance of the U.S. and Montana government agencies might change as they discuss their issues in the presence of a First Nations buffalo culture. The two-day meeting will be organized with a field trip one day and a full day of discussions the next. The field trip will be particularly important, as the Confederated Salish-Kootenai Tribe has the longest stretch of wildlife safe passage highway infrastructure in the lower 48, on Highway 93, which we hope can be put in place on highways that wild buffalo must navigate in their migration corridors.   BFC will be at the meetings and you can come, too. Check here for the agenda, times, and location. If you can't make it in person, rest assured that we will give you a full report.

This young buffalo has found a nice place to rest its head, while contemplating admirers inside Yellowstone. Photo by Tim Springer used with permission. Tim's photos are featured in our Wild Bison 2011 calendar! Click photo for larger image.

The buffalo are enjoying the peace and abundance of summer and BFC is focusing on our outreach efforts. As America's last wild buffalo are being admired by millions of Yellowstone visitors, many of those visitors are stopping by BFC's information table at Tower Falls to talk with our field volunteers and learn about the buffalo and the work BFC is doing in their defense. You can help do the same thing in your very own community; we have thousands of newsletters on hand and can really use your help in getting them out across the country. If you would like us to send you some, please contact Elizabeth with the number of newsletters you'd like and where you'd like them to be mailed. If your address has recently changed or if you'd like to be added to our mailing list for the first time, please let Elizabeth know that as well.

Thank you so much for being with us for the buffalo and for helping us spread the word to save these last wild herds!

Roam Free!

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* Join BFC for Wood Cut Week, September 5-11

The heat of summer makes the cold grip of winter seem almost like a faraway dream, but it is a frosty reality that will return in a few short months. BFC Headquarters is located in one of the coldest climates in the lower-48 states, with temperatures averaging well below zero, and snowfall averaging 5-10 feet. Our volunteers rely on wood heat to stay warm in our cabin, tipis, and yurt, and the time is coming to gather, cut and stack that wood.

Please join BFC for our Annual Wood Cut Week this coming September 5-11, 2011. Meals will be provided. Extra friends and chain saws are welcome! Please contact Mike if you are able to join us. See you then!

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* Lawsuit: Helicopter Hazing of Buffalo Harms Grizzly Bears

This grizzly bear is probably thinking twice about trying to eat this massive bull, but winter-killed bison as well as the rarely unguarded young or injured serve as an important part of the grizzly bear's diet. Sharing the same habitat, grizzly bears are also heavily impacted by the war-like helicopters that come to chase the buffalo out of Montana every spring. Photo by Kim Kaiser, used with permission. Kim Kaiser's photos are featured in our Wild Bison 2011 and 2012 calendars and many other BFC publications. Click photo for larger image.

On July 14 Public Interest Defense Center attorney Rebecca Smith filed suit in federal court on behalf of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies to stop buffalo harassment by government helicopters in threatened grizzly bear habitat.

The complaint details how several Interagency Bison Management Plan agencies are in violation of environmental laws including the Endangered Species Act for illegal take of grizzly bears and their habitat and for failing to consult and properly consider impacts in a scientific biological opinion, the National Environmental Policy Act for failing to properly analyze cumulative effects to grizzly bears, the National Forest Management Act for violating Gallatin National Forest Plan grizzly bear standards, and the Administrative Procedure Act as the above acts and omissions by the government agencies are arbitrary and capricious and an abuse of discretion.

Defendants include the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, who provided $525,000 in U.S. taxpayer dollars to fully fund the Montana Dept. of Livestock's operations targeting bison that migrate into Montana.   The livestock department is also named as a defendant along with the U.S. National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

In 2010 Buffalo Field Campaign videotaped the Montana Dept. of Livestock helicopter disturbing a grizzly bear feeding on bison winterkill on the Gallatin National Forest near the Horse Butte Peninsula. In records discovered through the Freedom of Information Act, Yellowstone National Park also admitted in 2010 that "during several hazing events in YNP the helicopter flew over grizzly bears and wolves."

Grizzly bears co-evolved with buffalo and once numbered up to 100,000 ranging across the Rocky Mountains to the Great Plains. Like the buffalo, the grizzly was pushed to the brink of extinction and extirpated from 98% of their original range. Breeding individuals in the subpopulation of Yellowstone grizzly bears numbers around 100 today.

Malnourished bears emerging from winter denning - a fast lasting 5 to 6 months - are dependent on winter killed ungulates to nourish newborn cubs and restore their health.

The suit is before U.S. District Court Judge Charles C. Lovell who has made several adverse rulings that have harmed the buffalo and their habitat. Buffalo Field Campaign is assisting the Public Interest Defense Center with video and documentation.

Stay Tuned!

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* BFC's Wild Bison 2012 Calendar Now Available

Rave reviews are in! We are getting extremely positive feedback from folks who have already ordered their Wild Bison 2012 calendar. Order yours now by clicking on the image or go here.

Connect with the buffalo through Buffalo Field Campaign's brand new 2012 calendar. Filled with eye-catching and awe-inspiring images of wild buffalo on their native habitat in Yellowstone country, this year's calendar is a beautiful tribute to this amazing species.

Wild Bison 2012 is a positive celebration of the last continuously wild herds of bison in America. This year's calendar features photographs submitted by BFC supporters or shot by volunteers. Each month offers a seasonal perspective on wild bison and highlights their natural history.

With a limited print run of just 5,000 calendars, be sure to order yours as soon as possible. Why not order one right now?!

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* Please Respond to APHIS' Claim of "Protecting" Wildlife

We just came across a recent blog post by USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service veterinarian Jack Rhyan titled "APHIS Veterinarians, Protecting our Nation's Wildlife Populations." Huh? APHIS, as you know, is the dark force behind the Interagency Bison Management Plan. They are the agency that initiated the bison quarantine (read: domestication) study. They are the agency that has been molesting bull bison to study their semen. They are the agency that recently stole 53 ecologically extinct wild buffalo to conduct birth control experiments on.   APHIS likes to treat wild buffalo like livestock and there is not a single thing we have seen from them that could be remotely considered "protecting" wildlife. Dr. Rhyan notes that one of the "coolest things" he's ever done is radio collar wild buffalo, while further stating that his "work....impacts how wildlife is managed." Yes, we know that all too well.

We thought it would be fun for you - and actually, very important - to respond to this blog. Dr. Rhyan, who probably admires buffalo in his own way, should be reminded that these are not "Yellowstone" bison, but America's last wild population, and that brucellosis is not a problem for wild buffalo, outside of the nefarious politics that mismanage them, and that to truly love a wild and free creature, it is important to let them be wild and free and learn from them on their terms. There are a lot of points in this post that could be addressed, and we're sure you'll find them.

Here's the link

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* By the Numbers

AMERICAN BUFFALO ELIMINATED from the last wild population in the U.S. The last wild population is currently estimated at fewer than 3,600 individual buffalo. Wild buffalo are ecologically extinct throughout their native range of North America.

2010-2011 Total Buffalo Killed: 227

2010-2011 Government Capture: 770
2010-2011 Government Slaughter: 0
2010-2011 Held for Government Experiment: 30
2010-2011 Died In Government Trap: 3
2010-2011 Miscarriage in Government Trap: 1
2010-2011 State & Treaty Hunts: 211
2010-2011 Quarantine: 0
2010-2011 Shot by Agents: 4
2010-2011: Killed by Angry Residents: 2
2010-2011 Highway Mortality: 11

2009-2010 Total: 7
2008-2009 Total: 22
2007-2008 Total: 1,631

* Total Since 2000: 3,972*

*includes lethal government action, trap-related fatalities, quarantine, hunts, highway mortality

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* Last Words

"It's amazing the effect one species, the wolf, can have on the entire ecosystem," says William Ripple, at Oregon State University, co-author of an international report on the profound and cascading impact large animals have on ecosystems.

He and his colleagues say the demise of lions, wolves, bison, sharks, great whales and other large animals is part of the "the sixth mass extinction" now underway, and that their disappearance affects everything from wildfires to the spread of disease.

"The loss of these animals may be humankind's most pervasive influence on nature," the team of 24 scientists from the United States, Europe, Africa and Canada are reporting Friday in the journal Science.

~ From Margaret Munroe's article "Wolves show 'sixth mass extinction' can be fought," Post Media News, July 14, 2011. Read the full story.

Do you have submissions for Last Words? Send them to Stephany. Thank you for all the poems, songs, quotes, and stories you have been sending; you'll see them here!
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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.

KEEP BFC ON THE FRONTLINES

Join Buffalo Field Campaign -- It's Free!

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ROAM FREE!

BFC & WWP Defend Bison's Room to Roam

2011-07-14T18:03:00.001-06:00

Buffalo Field Campaign and Western Watersheds Project File to Intervene
in Lawsuit to Defend Bison's Room to Roam Beyond Yellowstone National Park

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - July 14, 2011

Press contacts:
Darrell Geist, Habitat Coordinator Buffalo Field Campaign: 406-646-0070; z@wildrockies.org
Jon Marvel, Executive Director Western Watersheds Project: 208-788-2290; jon@westernwatersheds.org

Lewistown, MT: Buffalo Field Campaign and Western Watersheds Project filed today to intervene in consolidated lawsuits by Park County and the Park County Stockgrowers Association to stop a plan by the state of Montana to permit bison some room to migrate within Gardiner Basin outside Yellowstone National Park.

The groups say Gardiner Basin provides critical winter habitat and is a key corridor for the migratory species to roam in Montana.

"This reconnection of buffalo and the land on which they belong is a long overdue first step," said Daniel Brister, Executive Director of Buffalo Field Campaign. "Local Montanans welcome the buffalo's migration, have learned to live with buffalo, and desire to see the wild species return."

Gardiner Basin encompasses a small portion of the bison's northern winter range originally reaching 40 miles beyond Yankee Jim Canyon into Paradise Valley along the Yellowstone River.

Park County residents who filed affidavits in state court say the bison need a break from wasteful taxpayer funded government hazing, capture, and slaughter operations that harms their interest in co-existing with the wild species in their native range.

"Yellowstone is one of a very few nearly intact ecosystems on the planet and is considered a world treasure," said Fred Baker, who owns property the bison migrate onto along the Old Yellowstone Trail. "To not support free roaming Bison in my opinion is an American travesty."

"I found this winter very special in viewing bison up and down the Gardiner Basin," said Gardiner, Montana resident Scott Hoeninghausen. "A limited amount of tolerance created an unlimited amount of beauty."

The plan agreed to by Montana would permit some bison to temporarily occupy some winter range in the Gardiner Basin.

Bison migrating beyond Yankee Jim Canyon would be subject to shooting by state officials, an action which the groups and residents deplore.

"It is long past time for bison to be able to return to their historic range in Montana," said Jon Marvel, executive director of Western Watersheds Project. "WWP welcomes the opportunity to support the State of Montana."

District Court Judge E. Wayne Phillips of Lewistown has scheduled a hearing for the consolidated cases in which BFC and WWP seek to intervene in the fall of 2011.

Judge Phillips replaced Park County District Court Judge Nels Swandal who was removed from the case after Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks petitioned for a new judge.

Before he was removed from hearing the suit, Judge Swandal granted a temporary restraining order to the stock growers and the county thwarting Montana participation in the new agreed upon plan.

Help fishers and wolverines: Your Comments Needed!

2011-07-14T16:52:00.002-06:00

The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission has tentatively approved "business as usual" with FWP allowing for the continued trapping of Montana's fishers and wolverines, two extremely rare species that are highly vulnerable to trapping and already struggling for survival.

Please send a comment to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission requesting the closure of the fisher and wolverine trapping season. Also, please support the reduced quota of bobcat trapping in districts 3 (400 to 300) and district 7 (800 to 600). Please write your comments into the form at the link below:

http://fwp.mt.gov/hunting/publicComments/2011furbearerQuotas.html

The deadline for comments is Monday, July 18th at 5 p.m.

Talking points to support the end of trapping of fishers:

·         Montana is not only the only state in the lower 48 that allows trapping of fishers but it is also among the few remaining states that do not have a mandatory trap check!

·         Fishers in Montana are not connected to populations in Canada, and given their low numbers in increasingly isolated mountain ranges across western Montana, the mortality from the proposed trapping quota of seven individuals, may not be sustainable.

·         The wolverine is listed as a Species of Concern in Montana, and is likely at risk for extinction due to limited and/or declining numbers, range, and/or habitat.

·         Though fishers still remain in five drainages in Montana, their status is unknown; however, the decline in fisher numbers is clearly due to logging and trapping.

·         Historic data indicates that fishers were extirpated from Montana by 1920 due to over-trapping and they had to be reintroduced!

36 individuals from British Columbia were caught in live-traps and translocated to Montana in 1959. Another 110 fishers lost their homes in Minnesota and Wisconsin in 1989 and 1991and were translocated to Montana. After that, the trapping season was reopened in Montana in 1983. The statewide quota for fishers then was 20, then it was reduced to ten and now seven individuals can officially be killed for the entertainment of trappers.

Talking points to support end of trapping of wolverines:

·         Montana is not only the only state in the lower 48 that allows wolverine trapping but it is also among the few remaining states that do not have a mandatory trap check!
·         Given the low numbers of wolverines in increasingly isolated mountain ranges across western Montana, the mortality from the proposed trapping quota of five individuals, may not be sustainable.
·         The wolverine is listed as a Species of Concern in Montana, and is likely at risk for extinction due to limited and/or declining numbers, range, and/or habitat.

·         Wolverines are struggling for survival due to various threats, including habitat fragmentation and loss, and climate change. Yet, trappers can kill them for trophies!

· Researchers estimate that a total of 400 breeding pairs are needed for the long-term survival of this species while the total number of wolverines in the US appears to be only 500 individuals with a large part of the population non-breeding subadults. [USDI 2008/Cegelski et al. 2006, pg. 197; Inman 2007a]

· Trappers kill wolverine outfitted with radio-collars, in fact, trapping has impacted expensive and difficult research studies to the point where researchers are unable to collect sufficient data to meet their objectives.

· One research study (Squires et al. 2007) found that between 2001 and 2005, 64% [9 of 14 individuals] of known mortality was attributed to trapping. The same study showed that trapping was the primary factor for decreased survival of wolverines in Western Montana.

· Trapping is an outdated hobby of few and causes our wildlife to suffer. It is time to end this kind of commercial and recreational exploitation of Montana's wildlife. Not trapping but wildlife is our heritage!

While we don't know if the Montana FWP Commissioners consider our public comments, we nevertheless need to let them know that we as citizens concerned about our wildlife, are watching their actions. Trappers can only continue to do what they do when we don't speak up!

Please send a comment. Again, the deadline is July 18.

Thanks!

Your friends at Footloose Montana

Q-Fever Spreads in 2 States

2011-06-25T18:51:00.004-06:00

Q Fever spreads into the environment most commonly through livestock infected afterbirth and feces. Q Fever is caused by a microbe and can survive for months even years in dust an soil. People can contract Q Fever by coming into contact with the above mentioned material and inhaling infected barn dust.

Health and agriculture investigators in Washington have traced the outbreak to a goat herd in the central part of the state where animals on two farms have since been quarantined.

The goats from one of the farms were sold to at least one livestock operator in Montana, where three human cases are confirmed and three more suspected, officials said. (Yahoo News)

Is there a vaccine for animals & people for Q Fever?
Yes, but not in USA.

A vaccine for Q fever is not commercially available in the U.S., although a human vaccine (Q-VAX®) is produced and licensed for use in Australia. A similar product, which is not licensed, is administered as an Investigational New Drug in the U.S. This vaccine is available through the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases for vaccinating at-risk persons. A vaccine for use in animals has also been developed, but it is not available in the U.S. Q Fever-U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine

There is currently not a licensed vaccine to prevent Q fever in livestock in the United States. Colorado State University "Q Fever" by Dr. Van Meter

Why do I bring this up? Q Fever can be contracted by humans from livestock, yet there is no livestock vaccine. In 2008 the number of yearly cases of Q Fever went down dramatically with less than 140 human contractions.

Whereas with brucellosis there is an effective vaccine (if ranchers choose to use it) and states like Montana have funding appropriated by the legislature on developing even better vaccines. The number of human contractions of brucellosis in the USA is 100-200 per year.

Yet, even with all this funding and prevention federal tax payer money is used each year to harass and slaughter Yellowstone National Park Bison with the excuse that these bison transmit brucellosis to cattle, even though there has never been a case of this happening. No cattle are allowed on the bison birthing grounds or even into the state of MT until mid June, long after bison have given birth.

MT Wolf Hunt Comments Needed!

2011-06-17T19:20:00.000-06:00

This is from Defenders of Wildlife.

Montana wolves once again need your support. As you may have heard, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (FWP) is proposing a general rifle hunting season for wolves, set to begin Oct. 22 and running through Dec. 31, 2011. They are also proposing an archery and backcountry season beginning in September. The proposed plan includes a statewide quota of 220 wolves divided across 14 Wolf Management Units (the 2010 year-end minimum count for wolves in Montana was 566). According to FWP’s models, this represents a 40% harvest rate of the predicted pre-hunt population and will result in a population reduction of up to 25% by year end 2011. FWP is accepting comments regarding this proposed hunt until 5:00 PM on Monday, June 20. This doesn’t give us much time!

We have included some talking points below. Feel free to use these as a starting point when submitting your comments.

General talking points for wolves in the Northern Rockies:
The return of the gray wolf to the Northern Rockies is a remarkable achievement in wildlife restoration and an Endangered Species Act success story. Wolves have a long history in the West and are part of our unique wildlife heritage.
As a Montana resident who support wolf conservation efforts, it’s important that the state manage wolves as native wildlife and appreciate the important ecological role they play, instead of treating them like pests and actively reducing their numbers to minimum levels.
Hunting quotas should be as conservative as possible, and based upon professional wildlife management standards.
According to a University of Montana study, people who visit the Yellowstone region hoping to glimpse a wolf spend around $35 million annually in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. This is an important economic resource for our state.
Elk & Wolves: Contrary to popular misconception,most elk herds in the Northern Rockies are thriving. Elk numbers in the region haveincreased 18% since wolf reintroduction and 60 percent statewide in Montana, according to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Today, there are nearly 400,000 elk in the Northern Rockies and about 1,700 wolves. FWP needs to work harder to dispel myths and misinformation regarding wolves and their relationship with elk and other wildlife.
Livestock & Wolves: Livestock lost to wolves represent less than 1% of total livestock losses in Montana and the Northern Rockies. Disease, coyotes, domestic dogs, and severe weather kill many times more cattle and sheep than wolves do.
The favorable aspects of the plan:
It’s good that no trapping is allowed under the current plan.
The required 5-day waiting period after purchase of a wolf license is a good idea. It will help discourage some poachers.
The plan includes a mandatory 12-hour reporting after killing a wolf, and carcass inspection within 10 days.
The things we’d like to see changed in the proposed plan:
The proposed 220 wolf statewide quota is too high. It is a huge jump up from the 75 wolves allowed in the 2009 hunting season, and represents an attempt to seriously reduce wolf numbers in the state without adequate cause.
Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks already authorizes the killing of a lot of wolves in Montana (141 wolves in 2010, for example) in response to livestock depredation. This is currently in addition to wolves killed by public hunting. This harvest quota should be reduced to reflect this already substantial loss of wolves blamed for livestock losses.
The Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks commission needs to lower the hunting quota and focus on wolf conservation as the top objective as directed by the state’s wolf management plan instead of dramatically reducing the wolf population. The state should err on the side of caution during the first years of state management and maintain a healthy, robust wolf population.
Please see the link below for more information and to submit comments:
http://fwp.mt.gov/hunting/publicComments/2011wolfHuntSeasonQuotasDistricts.html

Again, comments are due by5:00 PM on Monday, June 20.

Flower Budget FY 2012

2011-06-14T18:59:00.060-06:00

After yesterday's announcement by VP Biden to cut spending of taxpayer dollars on things that benefit nobody and then his attack on the Desert Tortoise website, comes another fluke.

In the FY 2012 agriculture appropriations bill there is a provision requiring the National Arboretum to maintain a very specific portion of its azalea collection. The bill says, The Committee encourages the National Arboretum to work collaboratively with supporters of the National Arboretum to raise additional funds to ensure the long-term viability of these and other important collections.

Also, the bill would cut $832 million from a program that provides food assistance to low-income mothers and children. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that the reduction could result in as many as 475,000 people being turned away from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) if food prices continue to rise.--Huffington Post

Since this is an "agriculture appropriations bill," we can't forget wolves. The bill states:

Wildlife Damage Management – The Committee provides $72,500,000 for Wildlife Damage Control, approximately $4 million above the President’s request. ... Special emphasis should be placed on those areas such as livestock protection...predator control, and other threats to agriculture industries. [p. 20]

If you're a single mother, child, or wolf, you can't compete with the priceless Azalea.

US politics ARGH!

V.P. Biden Wants to Stop Wasteful Spending

2011-06-13T13:21:00.011-06:00

Biden has good ideas. One thing to note though, is his attack on the Desert Tortoise, an endangered species. In cutting funding for things like a website about this animal, Biden says he will be stopping wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars on things that benefit nobody. Interesting...So, endangered species are of no importance?
If you'd like to send any comments to the V.P. you can contact him here http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact-vp Ask him to quit spending taxpayer money on abusing America's Last Genetically Pure Bison who reside in Yellowstone National Park. This definitely qualifies as one of those things that benefit nobody.


	Good morning, Did you know that the government spends millions to maintain buildings that have sat vacant for years? Or that your tax dollars pay to needlessly ship copies of the Federal Register to thousands of government offices across the country even though the same information is available online? And I bet you didn't know that your tax dollars pay for a website dedicated to the Desert Tortoise. I'm sure it's a wonderful species, but we can't afford to have a standalone site devoted to every member of the animal kingdom. It's just one of hundreds of government websites that should be consolidated or eliminated. This kind of waste is just unacceptable. Particularly at a time when we're facing tough decisions about reducing our deficit, it's a no-brainer to stop spending taxpayer dollars on things that benefit nobody. That's why President Obama asked me to head up the Campaign to Cut Waste—a new effort to root out wasteful spending at every agency and department in the Federal Government. Like millions of American families, the Federal Government has to take a hard look at spending and live within its means. Most of these cuts we're going to make are small. They won't close our deficit or solve all of our fiscal problems. However, no amount of waste is acceptable, and these cuts will add up over time. This year alone we've found $33 billion in savings, but we know there's a lot more work to be done. When we passed the Recovery Act back in 2009, President Obama insisted that we use that program to set a new standard in government transparency and accountability. And he appointed me as "Sheriff Joe" to make sure the job gets done. Now, there were a lot of naysayers back then who said that there was no way we could implement the Recovery Act without massive waste, fraud and abuse. You know what? They were wrong. Thanks to our diligence (and some help from advanced computer models and sophisticated data analysis), the Recovery Act has had an unprecedentedly low level of fraud, with less than 0.6% of all awards experiencing any waste or abuse. There's absolutely no reason why we can't apply these same principles and techniques to all government spending. And that's exactly what I intend to do with the help of a new Government Accountability and Transparency Board, a group composed of independent inspectors general and high-level agency officials who will help me root out waste, fraud and abuse across the government. Helping me ensure that your tax dollars are being spent on things that matter, like investments in education, innovation and improving our infrastructure. So, folks, we're changing the way your government does business (and spends your hard-earned tax dollars), and I think you're going to like the results. Sincerely, Vice President Joe Biden P.S. If you're interested in keeping up with our progress in hunting down wasteful spending, you can sign up for regular email updates.

The White House • 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW • Washington, DC 20500 • 202-456-1111

Yellowstone Bison Experiment

2011-06-03T20:19:00.000-06:00

Yellowstone National Park has given permission to APHIS and the USDA to experiment on 100 bison the effects of GonaCon. This is a pesticide contraceptive approved by the EPA. GonaCon is a single-shot immunocontraceptive vaccine. It is effective for 1-5 years. (These people need to use it.)

Buffalo w/Calf along Hebgen Lake. photo by Eva Vincent

As part of its program to develop tools for managing populations of overabundant wildlife species, NWRC [National Wildlife Research Center] scientists have developed a new GnRH immunocontraceptive vaccine (named GonaCon™) that shows great promise as a wildlife infertility agent. (Technical discussion on how GnRH immunocontraception works)

GonaCon was originally made to reduce white-tail deer populations, which the EPA has classified as a public health pest.

To read a PDF fact sheet on GonaCon click here.

Create 'Animal Appreciation Week'

2011-06-03T11:06:00.000-06:00

This is a great petition to sign!

OVERVIEW

This petition is dedicated to the kitten lovingly named 'Little Heart', who was savagely beaten and nearly stabbed in Virginia by a 12 year old boy. Another child intervened in time to knock the blade from the 12 year olds hands, sparing the kitten from even more unspeakable torture. The kitten suffered a broken leg, and has since passed on. As of 06/03/2011, it is unclear whether or not the horrific abuse bestowed upon the kitten contributed to it's death. As of right now, the child has only been charged with one misdemeanor count of cruelty.

Sadly, this sort of case happens more often that we think. Adults are not taking enough time to educate their children of the wrongs of Animal Cruelty. I say that schools should be required to have an annual 'Animal Appreciation week', where the children learn more about animals and animal welfare. There should also be a focus on educating them about the wrongs of Animal Cruelty, and teach them how they can help animals instead of hurt them.

One of my suggestions for an idea would include learning about how animals help people, such as therapy dogs, police dogs, guide dogs, etc.

SIGN Petition

Tell Nestea STOP Abusing Animals

2011-06-03T10:46:00.001-06:00

Tell Nestea to Stop Abusing Animals

Before taking your next sip of tea, check the label on the bottle because you may be drinking a cupful of cruelty to animals. Nestlé, the maker of Nestea, is testing and paying others to conduct painful and deadly tea tests on animals. The company has caused animals to suffer simply to investigate the possible health benefits linked to tea products and ingredients, even though not one of these experiments is legally required for beverage manufacturers, and regulators have stated that animal tests are not sufficient to prove a health claim about a product.
In these cruel tests, mice and rats were tormented and then killed by such means as decapitation. The following are some details of the horrors endured by the animals used in Nestea's tea experiments:

Mice bred to suffer from brain dysfunction and rapid aging were fed green-tea extracts and then locked in a dark chamber, only to receive painful electric shocks to their feet; the mice were then killed.
Mice bred to suffer from muscle degeneration were fed green-tea extracts, after which experimenters cut open the animals' leg muscles and then decapitated them.
Experimenters injected toxic chemicals into mice to destroy insulin-producing cells, causing the animals to develop diabetes. After this cruel procedure, the mice were force-fed tea extracts and then killed.
Rats made to suffer from high fat and cholesterol levels were forced to consume tea extracts through a tube that was forced down their throats; the rats were then killed and dissected.

Modern, cruelty-free research methods are available and are in use by other leading beverage companies around the world. We need YOU to join us in telling Nestea to ditch its cruel-tea to animals and to use non-animal methods instead.

Please take a moment to ask Nestea to stop testing on animals and join other brands—such as Lipton, Arizona, Snapple, Honest Tea, Tazo, Twinings, Stash Tea, Celestial Seasonings, Luzianne Tea, and others—that don't experiment on animals.

Canada to Protect Wolves

2011-05-30T13:03:00.001-06:00

The National Democratic Party has introduced a bill that seeks to amend the Wildlife Act to make it illegal to hunt wolves by placing bait.

The bill, Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows MLA Michael Sather's Fair Chase Act, would also forbid anyone from impeding the movement of wildlife "by placing a motorized vehicle, aircraft, boat or other mechanical device between wildlife and the direction the wildlife is proceeding." (the USA needs to do this as well )

Animal Rights Conference 2011

2011-05-21T18:15:00.002-06:00

July 21-25th in Los Angeles, CA

More than 100 speakers from 60 organizations
Sessions on animal abuse, organizing, tactics, issues
Eyewitness reports on key campaigns
Diverse approaches to animal liberation
Talks by other social justice leaders
Awards to celebrities and activists
Extensive learning and networking options
90 exhibits (free & open to the public)
40 videos, including premieres
Highly discounted sleeping rooms

Click Here for More Info.

USDA 2011 Cattle Death Loss Report

2011-05-18T08:37:00.000-06:00

Deaths from Carnivore Predation= .23% Yes. That's less than 1/4 of 1% of cows killed by predators.
The USDA's / FWS' war on predators is just a bunch of smoke.

Some of My Designs

2011-05-15T12:06:00.000-06:00

Make a personalized gift at Zazzle.

I-90 Wildlife Bridges in Cascades

2011-05-13T13:17:00.000-06:00

If only the rest of the country had this much intelligence.

BLM, BP & Mustang Slaughter

2011-05-13T12:43:00.000-06:00

ID Begins Aerial Gunning Wolves This Week

2011-05-03T20:48:00.000-06:00

Idaho is more than eager to begin their Palin style warfare on wolves. US Fish Wildlife Service will likely have the wolves delisted by Thursday or Friday. The new Idaho Fish and Game Director, Virgil Moore, who became director March 31, 2011, will implement the states science-based plan to reduce wolf numbers in the Lolo area where elk herds have already experienced mass die offs in the severe weather.

We believe there is still enough snow on the ground that we can pursue those animals via aerial gunning and try to reduce those numbers. Moore says.

The department is scrambling to find aircraft to carry out the mission before snow melts and will seek assistance from federal wildlife agents to do the shooting. Once snow has melted, trapping will be used in the Lolo Zone.

Scrambling to find aircraft to carry out the mission. ROFL. Those red necks are trying to be bad ass making soo much hype over wolves.

But, as all Palin aspirants believe, aerial gunning is not enough. Director Moore will also immediately issue trapping of wolves as soon as the snow melts. This fall, he will work with FWS to implement a wolf hunt.

An interesting tidbit about Moore..He was chief of fisheries for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, but in August went to Oregon and became director for Oregon Fish and Wildlife. But, 11 months later he says for personal reasons, I’ve decided to return to Idaho.

ID F&G is an agency with a $78 million annual budget and 567 full-time employee.

This year the department is facing shrinking revenue from hunting licenses, less federal money, and a Legislature that’s been leery of fee hikes for residents. (boohoo)

Moore says he intends to seek direction from the hunters and anglers who finance much of the department through license and tag fees.

If you'd like to contact Director Moore

virgil.moore@idfg.idaho.gov

US Recovers Gray Wolves to Kill Them

2011-05-01T21:07:00.003-06:00

Severe Winter in NW=Severe Game Die-Off

2011-05-01T20:15:00.000-06:00

A record number of big-game animals perished this winter in parts of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming from a harsh season of unusually heavy snows and sustained cold in the Northern Rockies, state wildlife managers say.

Wildlife managers estimate die-offs in the tens of thousands across thousands of square miles that span prairie in northeastern Montana, the upper Snake River basin in Idaho near Yellowstone National Park and the high country of northwestern Wyoming near the exclusive resort of Jackson.

Can't blame the wolves for low game numbers this year.

WY Fish & Game Wants to Delist Wolves, Grizzlies

2011-05-01T19:37:00.001-06:00

The argument that grizzlies can’t survive with fluctuations in the whitebark pine crop is a “red herring,” he said. “We don’t believe that argument has any content to it.-- Wyoming Game and Fish Department Director Scott Talbott

Just like with the wolves, a federal judge ruled that "adequate regulatory mechanisms aren’t in place" to protect grizzlies.

Also, within the next few weeks members of the governor’s policy staff will meet with key stakeholders about moving the wolves over to state management.

Talbott makes $137,249 a year! That's US government. You can't be too smart to be rich.

Good news. If you'd like to contact Scott regarding anything he says one of his short-term goals is to "improve our image and relationships with all our constituents whether those be private land owners, conservation groups..."

Listen to an interview where he describes all his goals here http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wpr/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1771294

Give him your thoughts on delisting aka eliminating wolves and grizzlies.

Scott Talbott

Director WY Game and Fish

(307) 777-4501

scott.talbott@wgf.state.wy.us

Russia to Send Wolves to Sweden

2011-04-30T20:33:00.003-06:00

Russia has too many wolves in some areas according to them. Sweden wants to increase genetic diversity of wolves. They say this after issuing a wolf hunt in January. Why the change?

Animal advocates, however, are in a strong position. They secured the backing of the European Commission who ruled that the hunt was contrary to EU law; the Commission has suggested the viable population is 1,000 wolves and hunting should be suspended until that level is reached.

Swedish Wolf
The European environment commissioner, Janez Potocnik, claims the hunt violates an EU directive that protects endangered species..

Wolves are an endangered species in the EU? At least someone is doing the right thing.
With increasing the wolf population in Sweden it'd be interesting to see how demographics and geography compare to that of the Northwest states in the US.

Let's look at human population, land size & wolf populations. US wolf numbers from MT FWP

Sweden

9 million people
158,663 sq mi
currently 200 wolves soon to be 1,000

Montana

989,000
45,388 sq mi
524 wolves in 2009

Wyoming

563,000
96,989 sq mi.
843 wolves in 2009

Idaho

1.5 million
82,412 sq mi.
320 wolves in 2009

Total land size in NW
224, 789 sq mi.

Total human population in NW
3,052,000

Total wolf population in NW
1, 687

Looking at the math

The NW has almost 1.5 times as much land as Sweden and a population of just 3 million.

The NW has more land and not much more wolves than Sweden wants to gain. If Sweden is increasing their wolf population with less land and 3 times as many people than the Northwest states, then why can't US handle their current wolf population?

Yellowstone Becoming Green?

2011-04-29T12:02:00.002-06:00

This month Yellowstone has been bragging about their new eco-sustainable buildings that they claim go beyond LEED certification. The certification they use in Yellowstone is Greater Yellowstone Framework for Sustainable Development.

Now, the park is boasting of their new partnership with Universal Textile Technologies. This company states they will purchase the recyclable plastic bottles Yellowstone collects each year and convert them into a non-woven, fleece material used to manufacture BioCel™ and EnviroCel™ highperformance backing for carpet and synthetic turf.

I think this is great, but it's all for show. Yellowstone just wants to attract more tourist$ and keep up their reputation as an eco-tour destination.

All this hype, but the park service takes part in the extermination of America's Last, Genetically Pure, Wild Bison.

The images to the right show the American bison as simply an icon. The one above is simply a mascot while below it is out of memory. You notice in the NPS badge there is only one bison, yet bison are herd animals. So, why only one bison when there are lots of trees? To depict what the park's goal is? Eliminate bison, til only a few remain. It can also show the short-sightedness of the park service. They can't handle large concepts, so, they place just one bison on their badge.

What can you do? You can thank Yellowstone for their movement toward going green and remind them of the eco-sustainability bison offer to restoring native plains.

Contact
Yellowstone National Park Superintendent
Dan Wenk
yell_superintendent@nps.gov

Director of the National Park Service
Jon Jarvis
jon_jarvis@nps.gov

Sign a petition asking the National Park Service to set free the 400+ bison they currently have in a capture facility INSIDE Yellowstone

17 Members of Congress Ask YNP to Redraft IBMP

2011-04-28T15:53:00.000-06:00

Download PDF version of letter

http://grijalva.house.gov/uploads/Grijalva%20Letter%20on%20Bison%20Management%20April%2026.pdf

Elk Protected, Bison Hazed & More

2011-04-28T10:05:00.000-06:00

Click here to view this as webpage

Buffalo Field Campaign
Yellowstone Bison
Update from the Field
April 28, 2011

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------------------------------
* Update from the Field ~ Take Action!
* News from Capitol Hill ~ Take Action!
* Urge Governor Schweitzer to Keep his Word ~ Take Action!
* Citizens Urge for Prosecution of Gardiner Buffalo Killer
* Volunteer with BFC this Summer!
* By the Numbers
* Last Words ~ Todd Wilkinson's Tribute Article to barb abramo

------------------------------
------------------------------
* Update from the Field ~ Take Action!

Last week, up to 100 bull buffalo trapped inside Stephens Creek were at risk of being shipped to slaughter, but your persistent action has halted Yellowstone from taking such action! Thank you! BFC file photo. Click photo for larger image.

Your actions have again made a huge difference! Last week we learned that Yellowstone was considering sending up to 100 bull buffalo to slaughter. Shortly after we let you know and encouraged your action, the Park Service amended their decision. The latest word from Yellowstone is that no buffalo will be shipped to slaughter this season! The Park has said they will begin to release buffalo from the traps starting this week. At least eighteen calves have been born in confinement and hundreds of buffalo have been trapped since late-January. While we celebrate the Park's decision not to slaughter, we cannot let up until they are all set free! Please keep the pressure on the park to release all the trapped buffalo now. Thank you for your persistence and many thanks to our attorneys at Western Watersheds Project for their steadfast legal support! TAKE ACTION to keep the pressure on!

Chasing buffalo off of their chosen ground, especially in winter and spring, can cause great harm to buffalo, forcing them to use up the energy stores they so desperately need to survive. Here a DOL agent aggressively hazes buffalo across the cold waters of the Yellowstone River. BFC file photo. Click photo for larger image.

Nearly all of the hundreds of buffalo that were roaming in the Gardiner basin have been repeatedly chased off of their winter range and into the higher elevations of Yellowstone where the snow is still very deep and the grass is hard to find. Some buffalo have been returning to habitat outside the park where they are able to find life-giving grasses. During one recent hazing operation, BFC patrols tried to prevent buffalo from being hazed off our rental property in Gardiner. Volunteers formed a human barrier between the agents and the buffalo, trying to protect the bulls from the agents and letting the riders know neither we nor our landlords wanted the agents there. Ignoring this, the agents persisted in harassing the bulls by yelling and throwing rocks at them, and the bulls then ventured onto another property where the DOL was able to chase them across the Yellowstone River into the Park.

The calendar says it's spring, but here in the high country the buffalo are still feeling the strong grip of winter. West Yellowstone received another eight inches of snow the other night during a spring blizzard. Times are hard for our shaggy friends this year. BFC file photo by Stephany. Click photo for larger image.

Throughout the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, winter has been intensely persistent, taking a heavy toll on all area wildlife. Montana wildlife officials have been quick to recognize that winter conditions are so harsh for elk that they are pro-actively taking steps to keep critical habitat closed to protect elk from human disturbances, yet these same agencies are actively engaged in displacing hundreds of buffalo from the Gardiner Basin.

Sometimes the path of least resistance is a dangerous one. Here a couple of tired and hungry buffalo walk down Highway 191 looking for any available grass along the way. BFC has been running highway patrols all day, every day, deep into the morning hours, putting up our "Buffalo Ahead" signs to warn traffic that the gentle giants are on or near the road. BFC file photo by Stephany. Click photo for larger image.

As it does in Yellowstone's interior, hard, crusty snow still covers most of the ground in the Hebgen Basin near West Yellowstone and spring storms continue to dump snow. The buffalo have long since used up their winter fat stores, but grass is still very hard to find. BFC volunteers have seen a fair amount of winter-killed buffalo and the living giants we encounter are clearly struggling to survive, moving slowly, looking very thin and sluggish. Many are simply not going to make it, yet Montana's livestock interests will nevertheless insist on forcing buffalo out of Montana.

This little baby buffalo and its family got to enjoy a little bit of warmth and sunshine a few days ago. The cold and snow maintain a stubborn presence, but slowly, the spring tides flow in, and none too soon. BFC file photo by Stephany. Click photo for larger image.

Regardless of winter's grip, south-facing slopes on Horse Butte are beginning to open up a little and calving season is upon us. Buffalo are giving everything they've got to reach these less-snowy hills of their western calving grounds. Every day smiles are brought to our faces as we spot a few more newborn buffalo. Buffalo mothers are having to work extra hard to find enough food to produce the rich milk their babies need to grow strong, but they are powerful animals and will do whatever it takes to protect and nurture their young. We celebrate the coming of the next buffalo generation and we hope with all our hearts that the waxing sun will prevail sooner than later, melt all the snow and bring forth the good grasses the buffalo are made of.

Roam Free!
~Stephany

------------------------------
* Update from Capitol Hill - Take Action!

On Tuesday, April 26, members of the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Rep. Mauice Hinchey and Rep. Raul Grijalva, sent a letter to NPS Director Jonathan Jarvis expressing the great concern that Congress has for the welfare and management of Yellowstone's wild buffalo herds. Specifically, the letter urges the Park Service not to send any buffalo to slaughter this year and to work toward replacing the current IBMP with a new plan "that places the conservation of bison and the end of invasive livestock practices, including the unnecessary hazing, capture and slaughter of bison, as top priorities." The letter further requests that NPS, "work closely with the current IBMP's Native American partners in the development and implementation of a new bison policy."

For many years the US Congress has taken a serious interest in this issue. Efforts have included letters to past NPS Directors, two Congressional bills requesting a moratorium on the hazing, capture, and slaughter of Yellowstone buffalo along with significant changes in management. Several attempts have been made through the appropriations process to restrict funding for the National Park Service to slaughter buffalo, the Government Accountability Office conducted an investigation and commissioned a report, and the buffalo slaughter was the subject of a recent Congressional Oversight Hearing.

Buffalo Field Campaign has played an instrumental role in these actions and with a consistent presence in Washington, DC, we will continue to encourage Congress to hold the Park Service and other federal agencies accountable. Your support is vital in these buffalo-protection efforts! Please contact your Members of Congress and keep the pressure on them to take positive action for America's last wild buffalo! TAKE ACTION!

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* Urge Governor Schweitzer to Keep His Word!

While Montana Governor Schweitzer has done the right thing by vetoing a handful of harmful bills that would have had dire impacts on wild buffalo, there is one bill - SB 212 - that he has amended, and that still adversely impacts wild buffalo by attempting to treat them like livestock. It would give Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks "shoot on site" authority. Please contact Governor Schweitzer to thank him for vetoing the bad buffalo bills and let him know that you oppose SB 212 and encourage him veto it as well. TAKE ACTION!

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* Citizens Urge for Prosecution of Gardiner Buffalo Killer

The Park County Attorney's office reports that they have been overwhelmed with phone calls from Gardiner-area residents who are asking for the prosecution of the individual who shot four bull buffalo on April 15th, killing at least two. A third bull buffalo was found dead earlier this week, but wildlife officials say necropsy findings were unable to connect this bull's death to the shooting incident. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials have completed their investigation and will turn over their case report and prosecution suggestions to Park County today. BFC commends the Gardiner residents who have taken a stand against such violence in their community and who have risen up as strong voices for the buffalo. We are hopeful that the Park County Attorney will prosecute this individual to the fullest extent of the law. If you would like to lend your voice, please contact Park County Attorney, Brett D. Linneweber at 406-222-4150 and insist that this individual be charged and convicted of these crimes!

Read a Reuters news story about the incident, which ran in papers as far away as the United Kingdom, and also an article from Montana's Billings Gazette.

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* Volunteer with BFC this Summer!

As the harsh winter snows begin to melt and the life-giving grasses start to green we can sense the approach of summer. We are forming our summer tabling crew and are seeking volunteers to come help us educate visitors to Yellowstone on bison issues and what we do as a Campaign. BFC provides food, lodging, camping in and near the Park, gear, and transportation to and from the park will be provided. We ask for at least a three week commitment in order to accommodate training and orientation. This is a great opportunity to get involved and advocate for the last of the American free roaming buffalo! If you are interested please contact me, Tony, at volunteer@buffalofieldcampaign.org and I can answer any questions you may have.

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* By the Numbers

AMERICAN BUFFALO ELIMINATED from the last wild population in the U.S. The last wild population is currently estimated at fewer than 3,600 individual buffalo. These numbers do not reflect winter kill estimates, which will be significant this year.

2010-2011 Total Buffalo Killed: 223

2010-2011 Government Capture: 659
2010-2011 Government Slaughter: 0
2010-2011 Died In Government Trap: 3
2010-2011 Miscarriage in Government Trap: 1
2010-2011 State & Treaty Hunts: 211
2010-2011 Quarantine: 0
2010-2011 Shot by Agents: 2
2010-2011: Killed by Angry Residents: 2
2010-2011 Highway Mortality: 5

2009-2010 Total: 7
2008-2009 Total: 22
2007-2008 Total: 1,631

* Total Since 2000: 3,934*

*includes lethal government action, trap-related fatalities, quarantine, hunts, highway mortality

-----------------------------
* Last Words ~ Todd Wilkinson's Tribute to barb abramo

"Horrified at how Yellowstone National Park bison were being killed for simply crossing an invisible line into Montana, [Phil] Morton and [barb] abramo were impressed by the fearless resolve of the younger people affiliated with the Buffalo Field Campaign. ... abramo knew BFC's strength came from the fact that it had defied skeptics, persisting all these years in calling attention to Montana's Draconian treatment of bison. By not going away, the organization has helped usher forth increased tolerance for the iconic animals and forced a re-examination of how brucellosis is approached."

~ Todd Wilkinson, from his tribute article about our beloved barb abramo, "Bison's kindred spirit to rise Mother's Day."

Do you have submissions for Last Words? Send them to bfc-media@wildrockies.org. Thank you for all the poems, songs, quotes, and stories you have been sending; you'll see them here!
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--

ROAM FREE!

Canada's Fisheries and Oceans Ordered to pay $80,000 to Enviro. Group

2011-04-26T19:52:00.000-06:00

The Federal Court of Canada ordered the federal fisheries department Tuesday to pay Ecojustice $80,000 in court costs in a case in which Ottawa last Dec. 7 was found to not be protecting critical habitat of resident killer whales as required under the Species At Risk Act.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Fisheries+Oceans+ordered+killer+whale+court+case/4678483/story.html#ixzz1KgTf4tBf

Yellowstone Intending to Slaughter Bison

2011-04-21T12:43:00.001-06:00

Click HERE to view and read message in web browser.

Buffalo Field Campaign is the only group working in the field
and in the policy arena to protect America's last wild buffalo.

Buffalo Field Campaign

Yellowstone Bison
Update from the Field
April 21, 2011

------------------------------
------------------------------
* URGENT ACTION: Yellowstone Intends to Slaughter - Stop Them!
* Update from the Field
* Send a Mother's Day Card to Help the Buffalo--Deadline Fast Approaching
* MORE ACTIONS: Endless Pressure, Endlessly Applied!
* Summer Volunteers Needed!
* By the Numbers
* Last Words
------------------------------
* URGENT ACTION: Yellowstone Intends to Slaughter Buffalo - Stop Them!

Please help these gentle giants! Yellowstone National Park is considering shipping up to 100 bull buffalo to slaughter. BFC file photo. Click photo for larger image.

We have just learned that, as a gesture to Montana's livestock industry, Yellowstone National Park is considering shipping 100 American buffalo - possibly all bulls - to slaughter. Hundreds of buffalo are being held captive in Yellowstone's Stephens Creek and Corwin Springs buffalo traps, and calves are now being born in captivity. Please tell Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk not to slaughter and to set all the buffalo free now!

STOP THE SLAUGHTER!

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* Update from the Field

DOL agent Jeff Bowers chases a group of bull buffalo across the Yellowstone River. BFC file photo by Stephany. Click photo for larger image.

For a few weeks now, residents in the Gardiner Basin have been in the company of more than one hundred wild bull buffalo. Agencies had been showing some tolerance, leaving them alone for the most part, and a lot of people have been celebrating their presence. Buffalo Field Campaign's Gardiner patrols have had the pleasure of sharing our little yard with buffalo nearly every day. While many locals have been enjoying the company of these beautiful bulls, and have also loudly applauded the recent decision to give wild buffalo a little more room to roam north of Yellowstone, our shaggy friends have suffered an enormous and undeserved backlash from a small, but very loud, contingency of Park County residents. Consequently, two bulls are dead and serious hazing operations began on Tuesday morning to force all buffalo out of the Gardiner Basin.

Cattle interests show that they don't want wild buffalo roaming free in the Gardiner Basin at Thursday's IBMP Open House. BFC file photos by Stephany. Click photos for larger images.

BFC and other buffalo advocates were hoping for meaningful dialogue at Thursday night's Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP) open house, however, an organized group of anti-buffalo and anti-wolf folks came armed with exaggerated complaints, even calling the agencies "sick" for granting buffalo a little more space. You'd think they feared buffalo would eat their children. It was refreshing to hear some of the agency representatives stand their ground for the buffalo for a change. Buffalo are extremely easy to coexist with and fortunately all concerns have easily workable solutions, but some people just want to be mad and don't want to welcome the gentle giants home. Park County Commissioners - representing cattle interests - may even go so far as to take legal action.

A bull buffalo watches some of his brothers get hazed off of Bill Hoppe's cattle pasture by the Department of Livestock. This bull was soon hazed as well, and with ten others, pushed across the Yellowstone River into the Park. BFC file photo by Stephany. Click photo for larger image.

The day after the IBMP Open House, one resident took horrific action against four bulls, shooting dozens of rounds with a .22 caliber rifle. The shots were fired near a handful of houses, right next to Highway 89. One bull, full of bullet holes, died immediately, another suffered injuries and died the following evening. The fate of the two others is unknown as we haven't found their bodies. Montana's Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) is fully engaged in an investigation and, according to local sources, they have a suspect. Park County Attorney, Brett D. Linneweber will decide whether or not this person will be prosecuted. Please call him at 406-222-4150 and insist that this individual be charged and convicted of these crimes! Here are a few photos of the two bulls that died, and we must caution you that they are very sad and deeply disturbing: Dead bull lifted off the earth; Dead bull in FWP truck; Second bull shot and wounded with FWP assessing; Died later, DOL and FWP comes to retreive him. If anyone reading this email has any information that could help convict the person responsible, please call FWP at 406-994-3540.

Day after day, DOL and Park Service agents hazed family groups of buffalo off of their chosen ground. Many of these buffalo are pregnant and will soon give birth. BFC file photo by Stephany. Click photo for larger image.

Mixed groups of buffalo have been harassed by MT Department of Livestock and Yellowstone National Park riders every day, sometimes multiple times a day. So many of the cow buffalo are huge with calves and ready to give birth any day.   Yellowstone has informed us that five calves have already been born inside the trap. One calf died shortly after being born. Two moms and calves have been released, and two other pairs are still being held in the trap. We are hopeful that the moms and babies that have been released are able to join up with other buffalo because alone they are extremely vulnerable and they desperately need the protection of their families.

This bull group was hazed out of Yankee Jim Canyon, across the Yellowstone River, and out of Cutler Meadows. The bulls put up quite a challenge! BFC file photo by Stephany. Click photo for larger image.

Unfortunately, the slight tolerance for all the bulls we've been enjoying ended abruptly this week. On Tuesday, ten government riders and law enforcement agents arrived in the Gardiner Basin and proceeded to haze all the bulls - nearly 140 - off of lands east and west of the Yellowstone River.   The bulls made sure the agents didn't have an easy time of it. Some bulls escaped hazing while others gave the cowboys an eight-hour challenge. Over 250 wild buffalo, including the bull groups and any family groups agents could find, were chased off of their habitat and forced over the line into Yellowstone National Park. We fully expect that agents will be out every day in the Gardiner Basin, chasing buffalo out of Montana.

APHIS molests a bull buffalo on Gallatin National Forest. BFC file photo from 2010 by Cindee. Click photo for larger image.

The dark and unwelcome shadow of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has returned to West Yellowstone. On Tuesday agents molested two bull buffalo. After two bulls were "sampled" by the scientists, they, along with a younger one in their company, marched for miles south down Highway 191 straight into the town of West Yellowstone. Local and regional law enforcement, along with the DOL, proceeded to chaotically chase the buffalo around town for a while before pushing them over the boundary into Yellowstone.   APHIS was again seen in the area on Wednesday but we did not see them near any buffalo. Nine more bulls could be molested by APHIS, so please see below to take action for them. Please read below for more information on this highly invasive study.

West Yellowstone and Gardiner are in the throes of two different seasons; Gardiner is greening with the spring while winter conditions are still very prevalent in West Yellowstone and a lot of the buffalo we are seeing appear thin and tired. The snow still obscures most of the ground and very little grass is available. But the buffalo of the central herd press on, migrating to their traditional calving grounds on and around the Horse Butte Peninsula. Unfortunately, not all of them are going to make it. Winter has been extremely difficult for them, and she is claiming lives. Two winter-killed buffalo have been found in the past couple of days, and we certainly anticipate that there will be hundreds more in and around Yellowstone that will not survive this season. But the calves are coming and the buffalo nation will survive!!

Roam Free!
~Stephany

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* Send a Mother's Day Card to Help the Buffalo--Deadline Fast Approaching

Buffalo Field Campaign is happy to announce the return of our immensely popular Mother's Day card fundraiser.

Click for full-sized image

For just $15 Buffalo Field Campaign will send one of these beautifully crafted and and hand-colored cards to the recipient of your choice. Please use this link to order cards and remember that the deadline for ordering is Monday, April 25. We will send the cards to arrive by Mother's Day, Sunday May 8.

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* TAKE ACTION NOW! Please Keep the Pressure On!

1. Please Contact your Members of Congress and request that they co-sign a letter to National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis encouraging Yellowstone National Park to find habitats for wild buffalo to roam. Take Action Now!

2. Ask Governor Schweitzer to Veto Two More Bad Buffalo Bills. Governor Schweitzer has vetoed HB 318 and there are two more bills on his desk that need to get his veto. Please thank him for vetoing HB 318 and encourage him to stay the course and veto SB 174 and SB 212. Take Action Now!

3. Don't Let APHIS Harm More Bull Buffalo! APHIS has returned to the West Yellowstone area and molested two more bulls this week as part of their semen collection study. After being awakened from anesthesia with a reversal drug the bulls wandered into the town of West Yellowstone and were aggressively hazed into Yellowstone National Park. Please keep the pressure on APHIS to abandon this ill-conceived and highly invasive study and leave bull buffalo alone! If you haven't contacted APHIS yet, please learn more and take action and help us spread the word!
Watch BFC's video
Contact FWP's Wildlife Chief Ken McDonald and urge him to revoke APHIS's permit
Contact Becky Frey, APHIS, and tell her she is not welcome to molest bulls buffalo on our public lands or anywhere else!

------------------------------
* Summer Volunteers Needed

As the days grow longer and more and more bison leave the Park in search of sustenance our presence remains vigilant. We are also planning and preparing for our summer tabling program. Buffalo Field Campaign is currently looking for personable and enthusiastic participants that are interested in setting up and maintaining information tables in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks this summer. We ask for a minimum three week commitment from perspective volunteers so that we can adequately train and prepare you to educate and interface with the public. During summer volunteering with the campaign one can expect to hand out literature, participate in discussions with the public, correct misinformation about wild bison, talk about bison "management" and policies, advocate for habitat and truly wild free roaming bison, and much more. You can also expect to spend your time hiking, camping, and exploring some of the most beautiful park and forest lands our nation has to offer.

If you have time this summer and are interested in being a positive voice for wild bison please contact Tony, our Summer Coordinator, at volunteer@buffalofieldcampaing.org and we can plan your volunteer experience. Thank you so much for your support and continued work for the buffalo.

Peet
Volunteer Coordinator
Buffalo Field Campaign

------------------------------
* By the Numbers

AMERICAN BUFFALO ELIMINATED from the last wild population in the U.S. The last wild population is currently estimated at fewer than 3,600 individual buffalo.

2010-2011 Total Buffalo Killed: 223

2010-2011 Government Capture: 659
2010-2011 Government Slaughter: 0
2010-2011 Died In Government Trap: 3
2010-2011 Miscarriage in Government Trap: 1
2010-2011 State & Treaty Hunts: 211
2010-2011 Quarantine: 0
2010-2011 Shot by Agents: 2
2010-2011: Killed by Angry Residents: 2
2010-2011 Highway Mortality: 5

2009-2010 Total: 7
2008-2009 Total: 22
2007-2008 Total: 1,631

* Total Since 2000: 3,934*

*includes lethal government action, trap-related fatalities, quarantine, hunts, highway mortality

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* Last Words

Wild
(for the bison of Yellowstone, and for the wolves)

It is the sheer bulk of them and their shaggy heads
and how they move in their bodies so much better than we can
even in dance even astonishing acrobats and their strength
even the runner nowhere near the leaping cat.

It is how the elephants walk on feet that hear the Earth
how they rumble in reply silent to our ears
hearing the mouse even the beetles in the sand
and the humming grass.

(©March 16, 2008 Carol Snyder Halberstadt)

Do you have submissions for Last Words? Send them to bfc-media@wildrockies.org and you'll see them here. Thank you for all the poems, songs, quotes, and stories you have been sending; you'll see them here!

------------------------------

ROAM FREE!

Click here to unsubscribe.

Idaho Declares Disaster Emergency

2011-04-19T20:53:00.000-06:00

"The uncontrolled proliferation of imported wolves on private land has produced a clear and present danger to humans, their pets and livestock, and has altered and hindered historical uses of private and public land, dramatically inhibiting previously safe activities such as walking, picnicking, biking, berry picking, hunting and fishing."

Excerpt of Otter's Declaration Letter

Idaho Conservation League commented:

This action is over the top, even by Idaho standards.

Gov. Otter enacted H0343 to deal with this drama. Here's a snippet:

67-5807. GOVERNOR -- EXECUTIVE ORDERS. (1) Pursuant to this act, the governor may issue executive orders and proclamations and amend or rescind such orders and proclamations. Executive orders and proclamations have the
force and effect of law. A disaster emergency may be declared by executive order or proclamation of the governor if the governor finds any of the following:

(a) Any Canadian gray wolf within the state is a carrier of a disease harmful to humans, livestock, pets and wild game and that there is a risk of transmission of such disease to humans, livestock, pets or wild game;
(b) The potential of human–wolf conflict exists and that the Canadian gray wolf is frequenting areas inhabited by humans or showing habituated behavior toward humans;
(c) That the potential for livestock–wolf conflict exists and that the Canadian gray wolf is frequenting areas that are largely ranchland with livestock or showing evidence of habituated behavior toward livestock;
(d) The numbers of Canadian gray wolves are such that there is an impact to Idaho big game herds as identified in the wolf management plan of 2002, and that there is evidence that increasing the number of wolves beyond one hundred (100) has had detrimental impacts on big game populations, the economic viability of the Idaho department of fish and game, outfitters and guides, and others who depend on a viable population of
big game animals;
(e) The numbers of big game animals have been significantly impacted below that of recent historical numbers and that there has been a measurable diminution in the value of businesses tied to outfitting and other game or hunting based businesses.

Control Wildlife for Brucellosis

2011-04-19T18:16:00.002-06:00

There's a new anti-wildlife bill that's pretty vague. The bill SB237 establishes the Department of Fish & Wildlife as puppets for livestock managing wildlife to protect the holier than thou cattle in Montana. The bill was given to Governor B.S. on April 11th and is awaiting his signature. He has 10 days to sign it.

Some text of the bill:

(2) If the source of brucellosis transmission resulting in an order or regulation promulgated under subsection (1) is:
     (a) wild buffalo or bison, the administrator shall enforce the provisions of 81-2-120 in a manner that ensures that the risk of additional transmission from wild buffalo or bison to livestock is eliminated or minimized as much as possible; or
     (b) from any other species of wildlife, the administrator shall, in coordination with the department of fish, wildlife, and parks, develop brucellosis surveillance and prevalence reduction procedures for the wildlife species identified as the source of transmission within the area affected.
     (3) The department shall pay testing costs for the surveillance of livestock pursuant to subsection (1).

What is "ensures that the risk....is eliminated or minimized...?" and what on earth are "prevalence reduction procedures?"

That leaves it wide open to all out slaughter of wild bison, which is a common occurrence in Montana (unfortunately for the bison, ecology, and those that like bison.)

Wolves to be Slaughtered as Part of Federal Budget

2011-04-17T10:08:00.002-06:00

Photo-Wikimedia Commons

The wolves will be slaughtered in 60 days in Idaho and Montana. There are no packs in Utah and no plans to hunt in Oregon. In Washington wolves will remain endangered. In Wyoming, wolves will remain federally protected until the state develops a wolf management plan that’s approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Idaho and Montana, intend to kill many of the 1,270 animals last counted in their two states, which include approximately 80 breeding pairs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is likely to ramp up aerial gunning of wolves and campaigns that destroy pups in their dens.

There are 1,600 wolves in the Northern Rockies.

Here is the text of the "wolf rider"

SEC. 1713. Before the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall reissue the final rule published on April 2, 2009 (74 Fed. Reg. 15123 et seq.) without regard to any other provision of statute or regulation that applies to issuance of such rule. Such reissuance (including this section) shall not be subject to judicial review and shall not abrogate or otherwise have any effect on the order and judgment issued by the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming in Case Numbers 09–CV–118J and 09–CV–138J on November 18, 2010.

In Washington state Fish & Wildlife will keep wolves listed as endangered. There are only 2 wolf packs in Washington.

Here's a Q&A from the Spokesman Review with Madonna Luers, a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman:

Q. How will the rider affect Washington’s wolves?

A. Washington has a much smaller wolf population than Idaho with only two confirmed wolf packs – one in the Methow Valley and one in Pend Oreille County.
Wolves will remain a “state endangered species,” said Madonna Luers, a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman.
The department is working on wolf management plan to reduce future conflicts as Washington’s wolf population grows.
A public meeting on the draft plan is planned for June in Ellensburg.

Q. Will Washington someday have a public wolf hunt?
A. “The short answer is maybe,” Luers said. “In our state, it’s probably a long way down the road.”

At least one Washington has sense :)

For a truthful, to the point article on the delistings go here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/12/966283/-Tester,-Simpson-put-anti-ESA-rider-in-budget-bill

Modern Cowboy

2011-04-14T20:04:00.001-06:00

BFC file photo by Stephany. Click photo for larger image.

Department of Livestock agent Mark Anderson makes a call on his cell phone while hounding a very pregnant buffalo. We heard him say words like "emergency buffalo situation!" and "buffalo not cooperating!" The DOL were on their own today, and the buffalo gave them a great challenge.

Livestock Removed from 450,000 Acres

2011-04-14T16:39:00.000-06:00

Idaho court orders livestock to be removed from 450,000 acres of public land by May 3, 2011!
Read more: http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/435877/5f76021691/1454001502/2094f66e48/

Republicans Introduce Bill to Secure Border on Federal Lands, Protect Environment - House Committee on Natural Resources

2011-04-14T14:32:00.000-06:00

Republicans Introduce Bill to Secure Border on Federal Lands, Protect Environment - House Committee on Natural Resources

On Friday, April 15^th the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands and the Security, Homeland Defense, and Foreign Operations Subcommittee will hold a joint oversight hearing titled “The Border: Are Environmental Laws and Regulation Impeding Security and Harming the Environment?”

Environmental laws harming the environment? This will be convoluted b.s. No wonder the US has financial issues.

YNP Bison Get 75,000 Acres?!

2011-04-13T21:09:00.000-06:00

BFC file photo

An agreement was made between state and federal agencies and American Indian tribes in MT to allow bison to roam North of Yellowstone. The area includes 75,000 acres within the Gardiner Basin. Sound to good to be true? There are catches of course...

Bison that move beyond the newly opened habitat and head north into the Paradise Valley will continue to be shot to protect livestock
"We need to get rid of 400 bison on an annual basis. Hunting is the most palatable option," Zaluski said.
Livestock Industry and Gov. B.S. have proposed a special hunting zone that would straddle the park's boundary, to make sure bison could be reached by hunters when mild winters allow bison to find food in park. Yellowstone Spokesman, Al Nash responded "No. Federal law prohibits hunting in Yellowstone National Park. Our job is to manage Yellowstone for the public according to federal law." (Manage it like Suzanne Lewis did? Rounding up bison and slaughtering them INSIDE Yellowstone.)

Bison fencing will be put up to keep bison in basin.

If you're in Gardiner April 14 a meeting will be held to explain the plan to the public.

Of course the option of tribes being given bison wasn't discussed. Though Ted Turner can be given some.

Structure in Nature

2011-04-12T20:05:00.000-06:00

Photo by: Gifford Pinchot Task Force

The structure of a wolf pack creates and maintains order, sustaining the pack. Clear division of rank allows for clear efficiency in sustaining the group--alpha is the decision maker, beta is the hunter and cares for pups, and the omega is the stress diffuser. Just like the structure of the Unified Field interacting with itself through numerous laws of nature in perfect orderliness. On the surface, the physical reality, things can be out of balance, but they can also be brought back into balance through the knowledge of the Unified Field and using technologies that operate from that level i.e. indigenous ceremonies.

For example, right here in Yellowstone in 2008, Arvol Looking Horse performed the "Releasing of the Spirits" ceremony for all the slaughtered buffalo. Also, helping with the ceremony was Rosalie Little Thunder.

Rosalie says that in Lakota tradition, when buffalo die, we must honor them with songs so they can come back again. When the Park Service and DOL kill them so disrespectfully, they sing no songs and the buffalo's spirits can't be let go. So the Ceremony was necessary to help the buffalo move on. Songs were given to the buffalo. They will come back.

Trip to Yellowstone

2011-04-10T16:50:00.002-06:00

I'm heading down to YNP on Earth Day weekend. Found out that Yellowstone is having Earth Day events.

Here's a list of events I came up with for the park:

Preserve the environment through trapping.
Help a poor hunter find his manhood, through killing elk, wolves, buffalo.. anything that can't shoot back.
Learn about buffalo-aka a species in need of disease management- Stephen's Creek Trap tour
Save a cow-Kill a wolf
Save a cow-Kill a buffalo
Save a cow-Kill anything with teeth
Preservation of the park through cattle grazing
Learn how to rape wildlife-Demonstrations by APHIS (watch introductory video)
Run with the buffalo with Montana's Department of Livestock-NO Sanity Allowed
Learn to hunt with bow & arrow from the cab of your pick-up
Spear hunting-No experience necessary

Tell Gov. B.S. to VETO BILLS!

2011-04-08T19:19:00.000-06:00

There are currently 2 bills waiting for Governor B.S. signature.

HB 318 ALL wild bison, even if the bison are certified brucellosis free by state veterinarian, must have approval of county commission before the bison can be allowed into county. This bill also gives lethal and non-lethal actions allowed when wild buffalo or bison from a herd that is infected with a dangerous disease enters the state of Montana on public or private land...

SB 212

Wild buffalo or bison as species in need of management -- policy -- department duties. (1) The legislature finds that significant potential exists for the spread of contagious disease to persons or livestock in Montana and for damage to persons and property by wild buffalo or bison. It is the purpose of this section:
     (a)  to designate publicly owned wild buffalo or bison originating from Yellowstone national park as a species requiring disease control;
     (b)  to designate other wild buffalo or bison as a species in need of management; and
     (c)  to set out specific duties for the department for management of the species.
     (2)  The department:
     (a)  is responsible for the management, including but not limited to public hunting, of wild buffalo or bison in this state that have not been exposed to or infected with a dangerous or contagious disease but may threaten persons or property;

Please tell Governor B.S. to VETO these bills!
Here is a pre-written letter by Greater Yellowstone Coalition
https://secure3.convio.net/gyc/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=324

Wolves- An Example of Unity of Nature

2011-04-03T20:53:00.000-06:00

The wolves show how a group can live together and take care of each other. They live for their pack, each in their own role/rank. The diversity sustaining unity, like the universe itself. All the diversity within Nature is the Laws of Nature. The source of these being the Unified Field. Maharishi says universe is simply the combination of unity and diversity.
Below is a video by Dr. John Hagelin explaining the Unified Field.

Bison Bills Update

2011-03-27T13:09:00.001-06:00

There have been alot of house and senate bills on bison. Here's the latest status of them.

SB 207--putting ALL bison under authority of DOL--passed the 3rd reading and has hearing 3/29/11

SB 148-- creating new group to oversee bison management with DPHHS--no vote "Missed Deadline for General Bill Transmittal"

HB 482--making bison "valued native wildlife in need of conservation and management"--no vote "Missed Deadline for General Bill Transmittal"

SB 174--prohibiting state funds to move bison onto Spotted Dog WMA--passed 13-7 and in 2nd House

SB 214--classify all wild bison as livestock--no vote "Missed Deadline for General Bill Transmittal"

SB 184 --permit "use of bows and arrows" to hunt bison--passed 18-2 and in 2nd House

Conservationists Turn Back on Wolves

2011-03-24T15:03:00.000-06:00

The feds decided to delist wolves in Montana and Idaho. 14 conservation groups had filed a suit to maintain Endangered Species protection for wolves. All but 4 of these groups backed down. The four who stood by the wolves are: Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Western Watersheds, Humane Society of the United States and the Friends of the Clearwater.

The 10 who agreed with USFWS and abandoned the wolves are: Cascadia Wildlands, Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Hells Canyon Preservation Council, Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council, Oregon Wild, Sierra Club and Wildlands Network.

The good news about the settlement is that wolves in Oregon, Washington, Utah and Wyoming are now listed endangered.

The court case settlement can be viewed here: http://www.newwest.net/pdfs/NRM%20wolf%20settlement%20agreement%203.2011.pdf

Longest Walk Visits YNP Bison

2011-03-24T10:29:00.002-06:00

The Walk Across
Turtle Island

BFC joins in solidarity as The Longest Walk takes a detour to pray for the buffalo and comes through Gardiner, MT. On the left, Good Shield holds barb's ski pole, which he beautifully decorated after her passing. This ski pole was the walking aid she always used, propping it outside the media cabin door as a sign of her there-ness. You are always with us, barb! BFC file photo.

As the mid-morning Montana sun warmed the half-frozen landscape, the sound of the Yellowstone river rippled along to the sound of cars driving by the Corwin Springs capture facility. The drivers turned to look at a group of Native and non-Native youth and elders gathering by the side of the road to pay respects to their four-legged relatives, who's wounds were still fresh from being tortured by APHIS, DOL and Yellowstone the week before.

The group of people, known as The Longest Walkers, had been marching for just over a month from the West Coast and would eventually arrive in Washington, D.C. Their mission and purpose is to bring awareness to the growing epidemic of diabetes, particularly in Native communities, due to the loss of traditional diet and the force-fed commodity GMO and high fructose "foods." They had stopped at many different Native reservations along the way, including some whose people had participated in the Yellowstone buffalo hunt. It became apparent that they had to stop in Gardiner for spiritual reasons.

Upon arriving at Corwin Springs, The Longest Walkers made tobacco offerings and prayers, and along with BFC volunteers, began their spiritual walk to Gardiner. In just about an hour and a half, the walkers arrived at the Park entrance and were greeted by a herd of thirty buffalo.

The Walkers moved past Yellowstone's arch and straight towards a family group of buffalo, waiting there to greet them. BFC file photo.

As songs were sung the buffalo all stood and faced East, with one mother nodding her head along to the drum beat. Many good words were spoken and the buffalo seemed to know why they were there. After a closing prayer circle, the walkers headed to the Gardiner BFC camp, where a feast of wild game and good stories awaited them. The Walkers thanked BFC for what they do and everybody was left inspired and with good hearts. The entire day was truly an impromptu "making of relations" ceremony. This is just the beginning.

~ Good Shield

P.S. Please tune in to this incredible new video, A BFC Volunteer Perspective, Featuring Good Shield

Native American Wolf Story

2011-03-22T12:53:00.003-06:00

Here's a story I came across. It has a sad ending.

photo by John Wiles
I wanted to give something of my past to my grandson. So I took him into the woods, to a quiet spot. Seated at my feet he listened as I told him of the powers that were given to each creature. He moved not a muscle as I explained how the woods had always provided us with food, homes, comfort, and religion. He was awed when I related to him how the wolf became our guardian, and when I told him that I would sing the sacred wolf song over him, he was overjoyed. In my song, I appealed to the wolf to come and preside over us while I would perform the wolf ceremony so that the bondage between my grandson and the wolf would be lifelong. I sang.

Read the rest here: http://www.ilhawaii.net/~stony/lore141.html

Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) Act

2011-03-22T10:06:00.000-06:00

Here is a good bill for animals: S. 3424/H.R. 5434
In short, the bill would bring all commercial dog breeders under federal oversight.

Please email your senators and representative today and ask them to support and cosponsor the PUPS Act!
https://secure2.convio.net/aspca/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2727

Another item to note (this one not good) is Whoopi Goldberg's support of Michael Vick's dog fighting. On The View, she said in defense of Vick:

“from where he comes from” (in the South, dogfighting isn’t that unusual) “It’s like cockfighting in Puerto Rico. There are certain things that are indicative to certain parts of the country.”

Express your disconcert with her statement by joining these 2 Facebook sites:
Boycott Whoopi and The View
Boycott Whoopi Goldberg and The View Until She Makes a Public Apology

Earth Day Event!

2011-03-21T10:40:00.000-06:00

Bison Guards on Highway 89

2011-03-14T19:52:00.000-06:00

This is an update to my previous post. It appears Montana is actually going through with making habitat for bison North of Yellowstone Park.

Schweitzer has ordered bison guards to be placed south of Yankee Jim Canyon, which is North of Yellowstone National Park.

Buffalo Allowed To Roam Outside Yellowstone?

2011-03-09T17:54:00.006-07:00

BFC File Photo 2010-2011

Yellowstone's new superintendent, Daniel Wenk along with Governor B.S. and the DOL have been having "behind the scenes discussions" about allowing buffalo outside Yellowstone. The plan is to create a north side buffer stretching roughly 13 miles north of the park, encompassing the Gardiner Basin and ending at Yankee Jim Canyon along the Yellowstone River. Fences and other barriers would be erected to prevent the buffalo from going into Paradise Valley where cattle ranches are located. Schweitzer also proposes allowing bison 'hunting' in this Northern "buffer zone."

Regarding the current slaughter operation he heads, Governor B.S. comments,

"Why treat the bison in this way? When they cross an imaginary line — boom boom boom — shoot them like a couch," Schweitzer said. "We're attempting to enlarge the area where bison are allowed to leave the park, within the constraints of keeping them away from livestock."

In 2008 Governor B.S. bragged,

"No governor in Montana history has sent more bison to slaughter than this governor."

MT Elk Hunting Journal Supports Bison!

2011-02-25T20:46:00.000-07:00

The Montana Elk Hunting Journal posted a down-to-earth article by Klyap. He's point blank, to the point, on what's going on with America's last, wild, genetically pure bison in Yellowstone. Here's a snippet and link to full article. http://www.domemountainranch.com/domemountainelkhunting/?p=198

Meanwhile, upwards of 500 bison that seek only natural migrations and food are penned up, based on scheming fears of Brucellosis transmission sent down from some senator from Eastern Montana and whomever decides to jump on the farm subsidiary train. My mom always told me, “corn don’t grow everywhere”. But, she didn’t mention those free government checks.

Contact New Yellowstone Superintendent

2011-02-24T09:28:00.001-07:00

Update from BFC

This beautiful cow buffalo stops to look back towards members of her family, during a hazing operation conducted by Yellowstone National Park, Montana Department of Livestock, USDA-Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, and US Forest Service agents. BFC file photo.

Dan Wenk has started in his official capacity as Yellowstone National Park's new Superintendent. He enters his office at a critical time for the buffalo and needs to hear from you! Please take a moment right now to contact Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk, welcoming him to Yellowstone and urging him to take action to protect the buffalo. Please share this link with everyone who you think might be interested in helping protect the wild buffalo.

Over 500 wild buffalo are still captive inside Yellowstone's Stephens Creek bison trap. Many of the females in the trap are a month or less away from calving. Yellowstone's own bison biologist has admitted that confining buffalo during this time can exacerbate increased prevalence of brucellosis among buffalo.

The buffalo in the trap are being fed alfalfa, a livestock food that is not natural for wild buffalo, and in large quantities can cause complications for pregnant mothers, including calf deaths. Injuries and death are also very common for buffalo that are confined. Yellowstone has not announced what they intend to do with the buffalo in the trap - if they will hold them there, or let them go. Other wild buffalo have suffered hazing operations nearly every day along the west side of the Yellowstone River, as they attempt to migrate out of deep snow into lower-elevation lands where they can find the grass they need to survive the winter. A few times during hazing operations, BFC patrols have witnessed the trapped buffalo stampeding while their friends on the outside are being chased by agents. At other times, we've seen buffalo in the trap try to walk along side of their relatives on the outside, who have come to pay them visits, only to bump into the fence, unable to follow their migrating brethren.

Wild buffalo are relentlessly forced to flee their winter range. Hazing operations like the one shown here are taking place nearly every day on critical habitat north of and inside Yellowtone National Park. BFC file photo.

These wild buffalo naturally migrated through the Royal Teton Ranch land easement corridor, only to be hazed back into Yellowstone National Park. Millions have been spent for buffalo to be able to use these lands, yet they are still refused access. BFC file photo.

Further hazing operations belie the failure of the Royal Teton Ranch land lease experiment, which in early January saw twenty-five buffalo forced through a $3.3 million corridor to a small section of Gallatin National Forest, where agents hoped they would stay for a couple months. Agents said they wanted to see how they might use the landscape. The buffalo showed them that wild buffalo use the landscape by migrating, so the agents shot two and have the rest in the trap. On Monday, a group of about forty buffalo used that exact same corridor, naturally migrating there own their own, yet six riders on horseback from Yellowstone, the Montana Department of Livestock, and USDA APHIS, along with US Forest Service law enforcement, chased them all back into Yellowstone.

The Montana Department of Livestock has also been conducting some curious activities along Hwy. 89 near Gardiner. On numerous occasions last week, patrols monitored DOL agents driving nearly 100-mile round trips to the Gardiner area in big pick-up trucks towing horse trailers, gathering with National Park Service, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Park County Sheriffs, and US Forest Service law enforcement, as if poised for hazing or shooting buffalo; yet, instead of witnessing actions against the buffalo, patrols saw the agents stand around and chat it up, go to lunch and leave town. Great for the buffalo, but extremely wasteful with U.S. tax dollars. A further demonstration of the extreme waste of funds allocated to the Interagency Bison Management Plan. These funds would be much better spent on habitat-based solutions.

Since we last wrote, twenty more buffalo have been killed by hunters. Sixteen bull buffalo were taken by the Nez Perce within four days on Gallatin National Forest lands outside of the Park's northern boundary. Another four buffalo were taken by Nez Perce and Umatilla hunters off of public lands west of Yellowstone. There are very few buffalo left for hunters to take.

Snow keeps falling, and wild buffalo will continue to migrate as their survival instincts dictate. BFC remains steadfast on the front lines with the buffalo around Gardinder and West Yellowstone. We sincerely appreciate all the actions you have been taking for the buffalo, and all the words of support you have been sending our way. All of you are Buffalo Field Campaign, and together, we will press on, as the buffalo do.

ROAM FREE!

HB 482--Good for Buffalo

2011-02-20T19:02:00.002-07:00

I took some notes at the FWP committee meeting for this bill on February 17, 2011.
One interesting thing to point out is that the sponsor, Mike Phillips, is the executive director of the Turner Endangered Species Fund. Grist did an interview with Mike in 2004.
I don't give public comment at these committees because most of the people on these committees most likely have functional holes in their brain.

Currently the bill is tabled.
Here is a snippet:

Section 2. Section 87-1-216, MCA, is amended to read:
"87-1-216. Wild buffalo or bison as species in need of conservation and management -- policy -- department duties. (1) The legislature finds that significant potential exists for the spread of contagious disease to persons or livestock in Montana and for damage to persons and property by wild buffalo or bison are culturally important, valued native wildlife in need of conservation and management in the state of Montana.

(3) In recognition of the cultural heritage and treaty rights of sovereign tribal nations, the department shall cooperate with tribal governments to pursue opportunities for the conservation and management of wild buffalo or bison.

The only parties that didn't support this bill were:

Montana Stockgrowers
Montana Dept. of Livestock
A Montana women's ranching organization (I don't remember the name)

Besides individual supporters there were the following groups:

International Indian Treaty Council (they came on behalf of BFC too.)
Salish Kootenai
InterTribal Bison Cooperative
Hunters and Anglers Assoc.
NRDC
Montana Wildlife Association
Horse Butte Neighbors of Buffalo
WWF
Yellowstone Buffalo Foundation

Interstate Compact to "Manage" Wolves Approved

2011-02-19T21:12:00.000-07:00

On February 17, 2011 I took some notes on the idiotic FWP committee meeting for HB 554, which creates an 'Interstate Wolf Management Compact' as Lee Randall, the sponsor calls it. This bill has already passed the house 12-8.
A snippet from the bill states:

The party states have enacted or anticipate enacting laws that make it a crime in their states for anyone to interfere with their enjoyment of the rights and freedoms guaranteed by current wolf management laws.

(It is one's right to enjoy the kill, much like Sara Palin.)

What is this Interstate Wolf Management Compact?
It is an agreement between Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and later Arizona that they will each, separately "manage" wolves according to their own state wolf "management" program.
Lee stated during the meeting that the "intent of the compact provides congruency, so we don't have ups and downs if they are endangered or if they're not."

A Committe member, Kelly Flynn, asked Lee what the advantage was of having a compact.
Lee replied, it is setting up an agreement with states that we will manage wolves independently.
Mike Miller, asked if this compact overrides federal law.
(Here's where Lee shows off his intellligence.)

Lee stated that their are court cases that back this up. What the compact authorizes would be federal law.
Miller corrected Lee reminding him that the compact does NOT override federal law, but is on the same level.

Then there was one man, involved with the Tea Party who spoke in favor of the bill. He said we "need to make sure the commerce clause isn't being thrown at us preventing us from working with our neighbors."

Rally for the Environment!

2011-02-19T19:53:00.000-07:00

Where Buffalo Can Never Roam

2011-02-19T12:20:00.007-07:00

Earlier this week Gov. B.S. declared and executive order prohibiting "importation of Yellowstone bison into areas of Montana that are outside of the designated surveillance area as designated by the Department of Livestock through administrative rule for a period of 90 days. "

No coincidence that a few days later SB 144 passed 31-19. The sponsor of the bill, Senator John Brendon, is receiving over $33,000/year in farm subsidies.

Here's some of what SB 144 says:

Section 1
"87-1-216.  Wild buffalo or bison as species in need of management -- policy -- department duties. (1) The legislature finds that significant potential exists for the spread of contagious disease to persons or livestock in Montana and for damage to persons and property by wild buffalo or bison. It is the purpose of this section:

     (a)  to designate publicly owned wild buffalo or bison originating from Yellowstone national park as a species requiring disease control;
     (b)  to designate other wild buffalo or bison as a species in need of management;

(5) The department may not:
     (a) relocate wild buffalo or bison within the state unless the wild buffalo or bison are relocated to the national bison range at Moiese; or
     (b) allow or authorize any person to allow bison to roam free anywhere in this state.

What's wrong with putting America's Last Genetically Pure Bison on the National Bison Range?
Only that the Bison Range is Beefalo. Putting YNP bison here would be an end to their pure genetics.

Eagles Fill West Seattle Sky

2011-02-18T20:30:00.000-07:00

Here's some positive news. The eagle population is soaring in West Seattle. Watch the video below.

Anti-Wolf Meeting at Boise State University

2011-02-18T20:23:00.000-07:00

Jim Beers gave a speech at Boise State University. What you are about to read is unscientific, impractical, and plain stupid.

Here are a few quotes with a link to the full article with more lunacy below:
http://wolves.wordpress.com/2011/02/18/jim-beers-speech-in-boise-anti-wolf-tea-party-nullificationist/

Wolves killed Indians and spread a lot of disease, including smallpox.

Countries that allowed wolves to persist don’t have an advanced civilization now – they’re like Africa.

How did America allow wolves back in? It was the love/drug culture of the 1960s-70s. Lots of turbulence resulted in the formation of enviro and animal-rights groups. This is when the term charismatic megaspecies came into use.

HB 482 Dies in House

2011-02-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

The bill to recognize bison as valued native wildlife in Montana failed 14-6.
I'll post more about the meeting later this week.

Bison Abuse in Yellowstone

2011-02-17T11:36:00.002-07:00

This is a good opinion article by Dr. Brian L. Horejsi. A Wildlife Scientist and long time Yellowstone user. He lives in Calgary, Alberta

Harsh criticism is increasingly justified in todays world of National Park and public land management, a world in which regulatory retreat from principles and regulation is the new norm and "gut and grab" politics seem to be an every day threat. One such issue deserving of harsh review is the continuous persecution of bison in the Yellowstone ecosystem. What is happening on Yellowstones borders is no less offensive than the corralling and clubbing of dolphins in Japan, the clubbing of seal pups off Canada's coast, or the indiscriminate slaughter of African elephants that eventually led to massive population declines barely a decade ago.

http://www.counterpunch.org/horejsi02172011.html

MT--"Global Warming is Beneficial"

2011-02-17T10:22:00.001-07:00

Montana legislators have developed a bill stating that Global warming is beneficial to the welfare and business climate of Montana. I am not surprised to hear this. Montana wants to destroy the environment and so far they have been very successful.

HB549 Sponsored by Joe Reed

Public policy concerning global warming.

(1) The legislature finds that to ensure economic development in Montana and the appropriate management of Montana's natural resources it is necessary to adopt a public policy regarding global warming.
     (2) The legislature finds:
     (a) global warming is beneficial to the welfare and business climate of Montana;
     (b) reasonable amounts of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere have no verifiable impacts on the environment; and
     (c) global warming is a natural occurrence and human activity has not accelerated it.
     (3) (a) For the purposes of this section, "global warming" relates to an increase in the average temperature of the earth's surface.
     (b) It does not include a one-time, catastrophic release of carbon dioxide.

HB482-Recognize Bison As Native Wildlife

2011-02-17T10:10:00.000-07:00

Help restore wild buffalo as valued native wildlife in Montana.

The Greater Yellowstone Region is home to America’s largest, genetically pure and truly wild buffalo herd. Buffalo symbolize the natural and cultural heritage of Yellowstone country and the West. It is time Montana properly manage wild buffalo as valued, native wildlife. Join us in making a commitment to restoring and conserving wild buffalo in Montana while respecting and protecting private property rights. Montana Buffalo: Landowners, businesses, hunters, outfitters, tribal members and other local conservationists are working with the Montana legislature to end years of wasteful and divisive wild buffalo slaughter.

HB 482 -
The Montana Wild Buffalo Conservation and Management Act is a bi-partisan effort
which respects and protects private property rights. The Act establishes a
foundation upon which creative solutions and a new commitment to wild buffalo
in Montana can be built. It will:

1) Recognize buffalo as “valued, native wildlife in the state of Montana.”

2) Restore Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks as the primary agency
responsible for wild bison management including fair chase, public hunting.

3) Ensure private property rights and livestock are protected, by
maintaining cooperation with the Department of Livestock at MCA 81-2-121.

4) Repeal current law which allows the government to enter private
property without landowner permission (MCA 81-2-120).

How can you help? Montana landowners, hunters, outfitters, conservationists, tribes
and other local community members are coming together to ensure our elected officials
know we want private property rights protected and wild buffalo respected as valued
native Montana wildlife.

Please let your local legislators know you support HB 482 the
Montana Wild Buffalo Conservation and Management Act by calling 444-4800 today.

For More Information Contact:

Glenn Hockett, Gallatin Wildlife Association, Bozeman, glhockett@bresnan.net 586-1729.
Jim “JB” Klyap, Dome Mountain Ranch, Emigrant, jim@domemountainranch.com 333-4361
Bonnie Lynn, Yellowstone Park Riverfront Cabins, Gardiner, MontanaPoni@aol.com 570-4500
Karrie Taggart, Horse Butte Neighbors of Buffalo, West Yellowstone, karrietaggart@yahoo.com 646-5140

Review a copy of the proposal at:
www.gallatinwildlifeassociation.org.

Gov. B.S. Says He "Cares" About Bison

2011-02-16T20:36:00.007-07:00

In an interview with Politics Daily, MT Gov. Brian Schweitzer was quoted with such humble remarks it makes a person sick and frustrated.

"This is a buffalo, OK. This is not a human," he said. "But I care about them, too. I feel a special responsibility."

"I picture them in five years being reintroduced in some of the wildest places in Montana and living like the wildlife they are, free of disease and fending for themselves as they have for 12,000 years."

"Our plan is not to move brucellosis out of the Yellowstone basin ... Is it trying to teach folks in Washington, D.C., that a good-neighbor policy means you listen to your neighbor? Dang tootin'. Do I think they will hear us? No telling,"

WA Wolf Howls

2011-02-15T20:13:00.000-07:00

MT Gov. Exec. Order to Not Import Bison

2011-02-15T19:26:00.000-07:00

The first thing I want to point out is there is NO mention of the word "slaughter." The only word is "importation." What does this mean in regards to slaughter? Only that the bison cannot be transported to the slaughter houses inside Montana. This "executive order" does not prevent hazing of bison or shooting bison on sight. So, the bison inside the Steven's Creek trap, can all be shot.

Governor Schweitzer Stops Importation of Bison into Montana for 90 Days

2/15/2011
Sarah Elliott 406-444-9725
Jayson O’Neill 406-444-9844
selliott@mt.gov
(HELENA) - Governor Brian Schweitzer today issued an Executive Order (below and attached) stopping the importation of bison into the State of Montana for a period of 90 days.

Executive Order language below:

EXECUTIVE ORDER PROHIBITING THE IMPORTATION OF BISON INTO THE STATE OF MONTANA FOR A PERIOD OF 90 DAYS

          WHEREAS, brucellosis is an infectious disease and Yellowstone National Park bison exhibit a brucellosis sero-prevalence rate of approximately 50%; and
WHEREAS, the Montana Department of Livestock has adopted a surveillance program that has been highly successful in detecting brucellosis-affected herds and preventing the exportation of diseased livestock from Montana; and

          WHEREAS, the United States Department of the Interior has recently indicated its intent to transport Yellowstone bison into Montana for slaughter at Montana facilities, which presents an unacceptable risk for the transmission of brucellosis to Montana livestock; and

          WHEREAS, Montana legislators and livestock interests have expressed grave concerns that because of the high incidence of brucellosis in Yellowstone National Park bison, the importation of any bison from Yellowstone National Park into Montana presents an unacceptable risk for the transmission of brucellosis to Montana cattle; and

          WHEREAS, several pieces of legislation have been introduced in the 2011 Montana Legislature that propose sweeping changes to bison management in Montana; and

          WHEREAS, for over ten years management under the current court-ordered Interagency Bison Management Plan has resulted in no reduction in the prevalence of brucellosis in bison, nor has it resulted in a sustainable population control model for Yellowstone bison; and

          WHEREAS, under Mont. Code Ann. § 81-2-112, the governor may issue a proclamation prohibiting the importation of diseased animals to Montana.

          NOW, THEREFORE, I, BRIAN SCHWEITZER, Governor of the State of Montana, by virtue of the authority vested in me pursuant to Mont. Code Ann. § 81-2-112, do hereby declare a prohibition on the importation of Yellowstone bison into areas of Montana that are outside of the designated surveillance area as designated by the Department of Livestock through administrative rule for a period of 90 days.

Quotes from judge Lovell

2011-02-15T11:40:00.001-07:00

Steven's Creek Trap

Distasteful as the lethal removal may be to some, it is clearly one of the foremost management tools - time honored - necessarily utilized to protect the species, the habitat, and the public. Judge Lovell, Feb. 14, 2011

This has been recognized and authorized by Congress and well-implemented administratively in proper fashion.

Lovell also said the slaughter of 500 Yellowstone National Park bison would not harm the long-term survival of the species. (WTH?)

525 Bison Going to SLAUGHTER

2011-02-14T19:58:00.002-07:00

Monday, Feb. 14, 2011. National Parks Service horseback rider hazes bison to move them from one location to another just inside Yellowstone National Park near Gardiner, Mont.

An Unhappy Valentine's Day by Judge Lovell included putting down the injunction filed by environmentalists to stop the unnecessary slaughter of America's last genetically pure, wild, bison. He wrote that while the slaughter of bison may be "distasteful," it is a "time-honored" method of controlling a disease carried by many of the animals. ("distasteful"="time-honored") Montana only cares about tradition.

Wanting News from Fans

2011-02-13T19:22:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,
I'm looking for people who would like to contribute their thoughts or news on the issues related to this blog.
Please send me an email through my profile and I'll post your idea.

Thanks,
Eva

Fur Banned at Norway's Oslo Fashion Week

2011-02-12T11:08:00.000-07:00

A victory for animals!

Paul Vastbotten, general manager of Oslo Fashion Week, told the Huffington Post of the fur ban decision, "It has been a very natural choice for us because we do not want [Oslo Fashion Week] to appear as an arena in which to promote products based on the treatment of animals [as] prohibited by animal welfare concerns in several countries."

Fur Banned at Norway's Oslo Fashion Week - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com

View of Wildlife

2011-02-11T20:05:00.000-07:00

People love going to parks and seeing wildlife. But, this is all they see. Like going to a car show. You look at the cars; their make and model, but it's just a machine. You have no personal connection to the car as you would a family member. Indigeneous peoples however, have that personal connection to the animals. They view the wildlife as family who provide for them.

The wildlife suffer because alot of people do not have this personal connection to them and so don't bother with how the animals are treated. Yes, there are many people who don't have the strong relationship to wildlife as indigeneous peoples do, yet they still want to help. Unfortunately laws are not written by these same people, but by those who live to see a car show.

Video-Save Yellowstone Bison

2011-02-10T19:35:00.000-07:00

Excellent Letter to Colin Campbell

2011-02-09T10:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a comment I received to a previous post. There was no attached map.

My letter to Colin and the Park Service;

Sir;

First lets start with supposedly 3,900 Bison in the park(a number that is WAY too high, with all the hunter kills, over 100, still about a month of hunt left, not to mention the winter kills happening daily) "They" say 50% of Bison are infected or test positive. How can they say that when the only Bison they have tested in the past many years, are the ones they just did at Stephens creek and only 1/3 tested positive? With their numbers, it comes to less than 2,000 being positive (again their numbers are way off the mark) Then we look at the elk and they are supposed to be 5% positive. At over 30,000 elk in and out of the Park year around, not to mention the tens of thousands in the Madison Valley, even at 5% positive, you have way more infected animals traipsing farther than Bison, and mingling with livestock, (Bison rarely if ever mingle). It has been proven Bison are NOT the culprit for the transmissions, yet the focus is still all on the Bison.

It's known these animals are 'genetically' pure,(THREE different, distinct, genetically pure herds in Yellowstone Park) yet the powers that be want to contaminate them with vaccines, and domestication. Heck they can't manage the domesticated cattle, how in the world do they think they can manage wild animals?

In the mean time there is a lot of money being thrown down the chute, because the Livestock industry is too embarrassed to admit Brucellosis is NOT a threat to humans. They want that budget, so they can continue wasting the money on hazing Bison where there are no cattle ever(Horse Butte Peninsula), they capture the bison before they leave the Park so the hunters holding tags are left out in the cold. This is like a Ponzi scheme, and we the taxpayer are losing our you-know-what.

In February of 2009 the Medical world released the fact that Brucellosis is EASILY curable in humans.
These Bison belong to every citizen of the United States of America, NOT the Department of Livestock nor Yellowstone National Park I have a piece of each and every Bison out there, and you are taking it away from ME.
Why do the Elk get a reprieve and the Bison don't?

When will you National Park Service People start protecting our animals and parks for future generations, instead of destroying them?

I have attached a map showing the Horse Butte Peninsula, so you can see the peninsula is just an extension of the Park, and Bison can contaminate absolutely no cattle on that Peninsula.

Ann

DOI says Slaughter Bison

2011-02-08T18:53:00.002-07:00

400 bison are being held in a trap along Yellowstone's Northern boundary. Wildlife advocates asked federal judge Lovell last week to stop the slaughter of the bison.

The Department of Interior is asking the federal judge not to intervene in the impending slaughter of these wild bison. DOI says the "massive wild animals" could cause property damage, compete with livestock for grazing and destroy crops.

There is no law that Congress can pass that will prevent the buffalo from disappearing before the march of civilization. There is no law which human hands can write, there is no law which a Congress of men can enact, that will stay the disappearance of these wild animals before civilization.

They eat the grass. They trample upon the plains upon which our settlers desire to herd their cattle and their sheep. They range over the very pastures where the settlers keep their herds of cattle. They destroy the pasture. They are as uncivilized as the Indian. 1874, U.S. Representative Conger

The civilization of the Indian is impossible while the buffalo remains upon the plains. I would not seriously regret the total disappearance of the buffalo from our western prairies, in its effect upon the Indians, regarding it as a means of hastening their sense of dependence upon the products of the soil and their own labors. Annual Report of the Department of Interior 1873

Bison Killed

2010-2011 Total: 131

2010-2011 Government Slaughter: 1
2010-2011 State & Treaty Hunts: 128
2010-2011 Quarantine: 0
2010-2011 Shot by Agents: 1
2010-2011 Highway Mortality: 1

Elk Now Targeted for Brucellosis

2011-02-07T20:25:00.001-07:00

On Sunday FWP began helicopter netting cow elk north of the Blacktail Wildlife Management Area in the upper Ruby Valley. FWP is checking elk for brucellosis and whether infected cows abort their calves. FWP will also gather data on how far the Ruby herd migrates throughout the year.

The elk will not be drugged, instead, restrained with a crew and given an instant card test for brucellosis. Any elk found to carry the disease will get a vaginal implant to monitor their pregnancy and be collared to track its movements.

The study will go on for, as specific as FWP is known to be, "several years" according to Kelly Proffitt, FWP wildlife biologist.

http://www.mtstandard.com/news/local/article_28cfd6ac-30ea-11e0-8f78-001cc4c002e0.html

First the buffalo. Now the elk. I wonder how many taxpayers' $$$ are being used for the elk studies.

Department of Interior Alternate Logo

2011-02-06T18:03:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately this represents the truth.

TAKE ACTION to SAVE BUFFALO

2011-02-04T19:27:00.005-07:00

I just wanted to post the links to where you can submit letters to Ken Salazar and Montana government agencies.

Defenders of Wildlife pre-written letter

https://secure.defenders.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1991

Natural Resource Defense Council pre-written letter

https://secure.nrdconline.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2129& s_src=fb

If you're feeling creative and/or want to tell Montana's government what to do and where to go, here is the link to email legislators and the committees.

http://leg.mt.gov/css/sessions/62nd/legwebmessage.asp

Young bulls at West Entrance

Temporary Halt to Slaughter

2011-02-04T13:10:00.002-07:00

Bison slaughter on hold as park reviews lawsuit
By MATTHEW BROWN, Associated Press Matthew Brown, Associated Press –
BILLINGS, Mont. –

Officials halted plans Friday to ship bison to slaughter from Yellowstone National Park after saying they first had to review a court challenge filed by wildlife advocates. Almost 400 of the animals were being held in corrals inside the park for testing to see if they have been exposed to the disease brucellosis.

Colin Campbell STOP the SLAUGHTER!

2011-02-04T09:30:00.001-07:00

Here's a letter my mother wrote to the acting superintendent of Yellowstone National Park.

Stop wasting taxpayers hard earned money abusing and killing members of the Yellowstone Bison Herd. The brucellosis excuse is a LIE to U.S. taxpayers. You already know that there has not been even one documented case of genetically pure, wild bison giving this disease back to the cattle who brought it here to begin with. Cattle imported from Europe by our European immigrant ancestors.

You are perpetuating the Dept. of Interior's racist war from the 1800's, when the complaint was that Indians and Buffalo are taking grassland away from cattle. Stop carrying on in the dysfunctions of your predecessors.

Let the Buffalo Roam!

Take Action!

400 Bison to be SLAUGHTERED!

2011-02-04T09:09:00.001-07:00

BFC Photo Week of Jan. 30th-Feb.3rd

Buffalo Field Campaign

Yellowstone Bison
Update from the Field
February 3, 2011
------------------------------
* Update from the Field: Park Service Captures 400 Bison; BFC Files Emergency Injunction to Stop Slaughter
* ‘Corridor to Nowhere’ Fails to Provide Habitat and Wastes Millions of Dollars
* VOLUNTEER! Please Join BFC on the Front Lines!
* Last Words
* By the Numbers
* Helpful Links
------------------------------
* Update from the Field:
Park Service Captures 400 Bison; BFC Files Emergency Injunction to Stop Slaughter

Friends of the Buffalo,

On Friday the Park Service released the 62 bison that they captured in the Stephens Creek trap starting the first week of January. Sadly, this was a hollow gesture. On Monday Park Rangers herded approximately 300 bison, including many of those released just three days earlier, into the trap. On Tuesday they captured 21 more. Wednesday another 20 were trapped. Today BFC field patrols report that 45 to 50 additional bison were captured, bringing the approximate number of bison currently confined in Yellowstone’s trap to 390.

These buffalo, members of America’s only continuously wild population, are currently confined behind cold steel walls where they are being treated like cattle. Feeding them hay and alfalfa, running them through squeeze chutes, and testing them for antibodies to brucellosis, Yellowstone officials have announced they will slaughter some, and possibly all, of these irreplaceable creatures.

Twenty-seven more buffalo have been killed by state and tribal hunters along the Park’s western and northern boundaries, bringing the total number of hunt kills documented by BFC patrols to 128. A buffalo died from wounds suffered inside the Stephens Creek trap on January 12 and another was shot by Department of Livestock agents on January 24^th, bringing this winter’s total kill to 130. If the Park Service decides, as they have hinted, to slaughter all the buffalo in the trap, this would represent the loss of more than 520 bison, or 15 percent of the entire population. And it is barely February.

A Yellowstone Park Ranger chases buffalo toward the Stephens Creek Trap in Yellowstone National Park. Photo copyright 2011 Jim Macdonald/BFC
Click here to view a slideshow of photos from this week.

Alarmed by the prospect of such a heavy loss and its impact on the genetics of America’s only continuously wild bison population, BFC teamed up with some of our closest allies this week to file an emergency legal injunction to prevent the Park Service from sending the buffalo to slaughter.

We have been waiting for a final decision from federal Judge Charles Lovell on the merits of our lawsuit challenging the Interagency Bison Management Plan since September and have been forced to file this injunction by the Park Service’s recent actions. We are asking the court to stop the agencies from killing bison in and around Yellowstone National Park and to discontinue the use of traps like the one at Stephens Creek to capture, confine, and ship bison to slaughter.

In addition to running field patrols in both West Yellowstone and Gardiner and our urgent work in the courts, we have been making many trips to Helena to testify against a slew of anti-bison bills in the state legislature. HB 214 and SB 207 would classify all wild bison in Montana as livestock, SB 184 would permit “the use of bows and arrows” to hunt wild buffalo in Montana, and SB 148, which fortunately appears to have died in committee, would have made it legal for Department of Livestock agents to enter private property without notifying and against the objections of the landowner to haze wild bison.

We've set up a web page to track these and other buffalo bills in the 2011 Montana legislature and encourage your timely involvement and participation in protecting America's last wild buffalo. Buffalo Field Campaign is doing everything we can to prevent a repeat of the winter of 2008, when more than 1,600 bison were killed. But we are only as strong as you, our supporters. Please pick up the phone, send an email, support our efforts with a tax-deductible donation, or join us in the field to help us protect the buffalo. We can not do it without you.

Take Action!

Please take a moment right now and urge Yellowstone's Acting Superintendent Colin Campbell and your US Senators and Representative to stop the slaughter of the Yellowstone bison, America's only continuously wild population.

Colin Campbell, Yellowstone National Park
PHONE: 307-344-2003
EMAIL: colin_campbell@nps.gov

Use this link to find and contact your US Senators and Representative.

Share this email with them and urge them to take immediate action to protect our last wild buffalo.

For the Buffalo,

Dan Brister
Executive Director
Buffalo Field Campaign

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* ‘Corridor to Nowhere’ Fails to Provide Habitat and Wastes Millions of Dollars

For some of the buffalo currently awaiting their fate in the trap, the first month of 2011 was a living nightmare. Never has management of the wild Yellowstone bison been such a heavy-handed and intensive failure. One group of buffalo in the trap has had it particularly hard, having already been captured, tested, marked, tagged and—for the females—invaded with vaginal telemetry devices at the beginning of January as part of an ill-conceived plan we call the Corridor to Nowhere. Described in more detail in last week’s Update, this project has been doomed from the start to be a wasteful failure.

After enduring all the horrors of the trap for two weeks, 25 buffalo were “released” and chased by horses down a narrow, electric fence-lined passage further away from the park to a place called Cutler Meadows, an overgrazed pasture denuded of life from years of cattle grazing that impacted soils and killed off native grasses. For anyone to actually think that wild bison, the very definition of a migratory species, would stay in this area exhibits a striking lack of understanding for the nature of bison. The fact that the National Park Service, MT Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, National Parks Conservation Association, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Montana Wildlife Federation supported and paid $3.3 million for such an ill-conceived plan shows how little these agencies and groups understand the nature of wild bison.

Almost as soon as they were hazed to Cutler Meadows the buffalo started to leave. A group of 11 wasted no time in swimming across the Yellowstone River for a reunion with family members that have been penned inside a quarantine facility for several years. The buffalo inside the pens came to the fence and stood near their still wild kin. Agents on horseback quickly arrived and hazed the group back across the Yellowstone River. The buffalo then re-crossed the river only to be hazed again. Agents used cracker-rounds (explosive charges fired from guns), more powerful explosive charges, and even threw rocks at the buffalo in their attempts to chase them back to Cutler Meadows.

The next day buffalo crossed the river again and were again hazed back. And the next day. And the next. Every day for more than a week the buffalo left Cutler Meadows and every day government agents chased them back. One of the buffalo, refusing to be hazed, was shot. Another ran into the hills and has not been seen since. On January 28 the agents decided they’d had enough. Using the quarantine pens as a trap, they captured a group of 13 bison, loaded them onto cattle trailers, drove them across the river and released them. The buffalo, also having had enough, of this so-called tolerance headed south toward the Park, where they joined up with 90 other bison. All of these buffalo, along with hundreds of others, were captured this week and now find themselves back in the trap at Stephens Creek.

Please take immediate action to prevent their slaughter

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* VOLUNTEER! Please Join BFC on the Front Lines!

Buffalo Field Campaign's multifaceted approach to helping protect our nation's last free-roaming population of bison often leaves us spread thin for volunteers. We are finding ourselves in need of experienced volunteers to join us on patrols of the Yellowstone boundary. The last call for return volunteers was answered with a tremendous and much needed response. THANK YOU!!!!! If you can again - or are able to for the first time this season - come home to Horse Butte, Sandy Butte, the Madison River, your community, your Campaign, and to your buffalo. We all need you and miss you.

volunteer@buffalofieldcampaign.org
406-646-0070

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* Last Words

We can live with the animals. Buffalo are part of the overall picture. If you don't want them, go get a farm in Iowa.

~ Hank Rate, bison-friendly rancher, from Bozeman Daily Chronicle article "Gardiner-area Ranchers Weigh in on Nearby Bison"

Have a submission for Last Words? Send to bfc-media@wildrockies.org. Thank you all for the poems, songs and stories you have been sending; you'll see them here!

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* By the Numbers

AMERICAN BUFFALO ELIMINATED from the last wild population in the U.S. which currently numbers fewer than 3,800 animals.

2010-2011 Total: 131

2010-2011 Government Slaughter: 1
2010-2011 State & Treaty Hunts: 128
2010-2011 Quarantine: 0
2010-2011 Shot by Agents: 1
2010-2011 Highway Mortality: 1

2009-2010 Total: 7
2008-2009 Total: 22
2007-2008 Total: 1,631

BISON TO BE SLAUGHTERED-ACT NOW!!

2011-02-02T16:39:00.001-07:00

BFC Photo

Yellowstone Park Rangers captured 340 of America's last wild bison this week, including the one in this photo. Park officials say they will send some of the buffalo to slaughter and hold some in the pens until spring.

Please take action now and urge the Park Service to set the buffalo free:
CONTACT: Acting Superintendent Colin Campbell
PHONE: 307-344-2003
EMAIL: colin_campbell@nps.gov

Even More Bison Bills!

2011-01-31T17:57:00.002-07:00

Here's this week's round up.
SB 174 SENATE Fish and Game Committee Tuesday, February 1, Room 422, 3 PM Primary sponsor is Senator Gene Vuckovich is a Democrat from Anaconda: mt.sd43@gmail.com. Prohibit spending Montana tax dollars "to relocate or transplant wild buffalo or bison" on Spotted Dog Wildlife Management Area, near Avon, west of Helena. According to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks: "The primary goal of Montana's Wildlife Management Areas is to maintain vital wildlife habitat for the protection of species and the enjoyment of the public." All too often cattle are grazed on these habitats purchased by all Montanans for their wildlife habitat values. SB 184 SENATE Fish and Game Committee Tuesday, February 1, Room 422, 3 PM Primary sponsor is Senator Kendall Van Dyk a Democrat from Billings: kvandyk@mt.gov. Changes current law to permit "the use of bows and arrows" to hunt wild buffalo in Montana. HB 214 HOUSE Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee Tuesday, February 1, Room 152, 3 PM Primary sponsor is Rep. Bill Harris is a Republican from Mosby: bharris@midrivers.com. Legally reclassifies all wild buffalo or bison in the state not in captivity, and not owned by a person as livestock. "Shall" meaning requires the Dept. of Livestock inspectors to capture, quarantine, test, slaughter, take by special hunt, or transfer to Tribes said "estrayed" buffalo "in a manner that does not jeopardize compliance with a state-administered or federally administered livestock disease control program." Based on previous statements by Montana's state veterinarian, this latter statement means that Tribes would only be eligible to take neutered or spayed buffalo. Two provisions of honorable mention in HB 214 would repeal 81-2-120 (Management of wild buffalo for disease control giving Montana Dept. of Livestock authority for all migratory populations) and 87-1-216 (Montana's hunt of wild buffalo or bison for disease control). HB 214 also repeals 81-2-121 the taking of public buffalo on private property, and the prohibition on intentional feeding "game animals in a manner that results in artificial concentration of game animals that may potentially contribute to the transmission of disease." The Dept. of Livestock is exempt from this prohibition on feeding wildlife. If you can't attend these critical hearings, please call and contact Montana legislators via this number: (406) 444-4800
All committee member emails are located at the bottom of this page:
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/legislative/montanalegislature2011.html

SB 148 DPHHS Bison Management

2011-01-28T19:23:00.001-07:00

I attended the Senate Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Committee meeting on SB 148 earlier this week. It was 1hr of bison and landowner bashing. I sat to the left and behind the comment podium. The sponsor of the bill, Art Wittich, says there are too many buffalo and that if DOL was doing it's job of managing wild buffalo before the animal comes onto private land, there wouldn't be issues with landowners.

One interesting thing about SB 148 is the following quote from the bill Sec.1 Subsection (2)(c)

The department is not required to notify or obtain the landowner's permission to enter the property prior to conducting bison control activities if the department, the department of public health and human services, and the department of fish, wildlife, and parks all find that entry onto the landowner's property without notice or permission is necessary to protect the public health and safety.

In regards to seeking permission from both FWP and DPHHS, Christian MacKay had the following arrogant statement against the state of Montana, "We don't need the state or federal, especially federal offices looking over our shoulder [making] sure we are doing a good job."
I began laughing at this hole he dug.

Brucellosis-the B word- came up alot from a representative from Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) and Christian MacKay executive officer of the MDOL. MSGA made a statement that goes beyond the superficial. "[we] need to keep bison and cattle separate in time and space." When he said this a thought flowed into my head that he is not referring to fences, but literally 'time' and 'space.' Cattle and bison cannot be in this country at the same time. The bison need to go.

A friend of mine gave a excellent presentation on the different strains of brucellosis, livestock who carry it and the threat to humans. Here it is:

Sec. 1 81-2-120 Management of wild buffalo or bison for disease control. Whenever a publicly owned wild buffalo or bison from a herd that is infected with a dangerous disease, etc... action (d) states that disease is brucellosis.

Brucellosis is passed through birthing material, therefore there should be an amendement to not kill the bulls or females before or after breeding age. Brucellosis causes a cow to abort it's first fetus, so areas without cattle should be exempt. A human contracts the disease by either allowing the bacteria to enter a cut, breathing in the bacteria or drinking unpasteurized milk. If a landowner or anyone on their land comes that close to the buffalo, that person becomes the Public Health Issue.

B Suis is most often found in hogs and is more deadly to humans that that found in cattle.

B. melitenses is found in goats and sheep and causes the most severe illness in humans.

Brucellosis abortus, which is found in cattle and which the buffalo have a strain of has never transferred from buffalo to cattle, is not usually fatal in humans and the intermittent fevers can be exhausting and last a few days. This disease is CURABLE. No need to clear bison from the landscape, as Christian Mackay suggested.

Given all this information, Brucellosis abortus cannot realistically be considered a dangerous disease. Therefore, the entirety of Section 1 should be revoked.
I do support DOL having to receive landowner permission!

Upcoming Buffalo Hearings

2011-01-25T12:34:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends of the Buffalo,

Please attend and testify at these hearings in support of keeping the legal status and treatment of wild buffalo as wildlife (SB 207 and SB 212), for restoring wild free ranging buffalo in Montana (HB 318, SB 212 and SB 207), and keeping livestock inspectors from trespassing on private property where wild buffalo are valued and welcomed in our neighborhoods and communities (SB 148). All of these bills need to be opposed and defeated.

PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED THIS WEEK ON BUFFALO BILLS IN HELENA, MONTANA CAPITOL BUILDING

SB 148 Hearing scheduled SENATE Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Committee Tuesday, January 25, Room 335, 3 PM

SB 207 Hearing scheduled SENATE Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Committee Thursday, January 27, Room 335, 3 PM

SB 212 Hearing scheduled SENATE Fish and Game Committee Thursday, January 27, Room 422, 3 PM

HB 318 Hearing scheduled HOUSE Agriculture Committee Thursday, January 27, Room 472, 3 PM

If you can't attend these hearings, please call and contact Montana legislators via this number: (406) 444-4800.

Please get involved and spread the word to save America's last wild buffalo herd! Make contact with your Montana legislators through this link (click on the area where you reside): http://nris.mt.gov/gis/legislat/2011/

To submit written testimony, contact the secretary of the respective committee. Address your testimony to the Chair and members of the committee, and ask that your testimony be entered into the hearing record.

House committee members (and secretaries) can be found and contacted through this link: http://leg.mt.gov/css/House/house-committees-2011.asp

Senate committee members (and secretaries) can be found and contacted through this link: http://leg.mt.gov/css/Senate/senate%20committees-2011.asp

SB 148 online: http://data.opi.mt.gov/bills/2011/billhtml/SB0148.htm

The primary sponsor Sen. Art Wittich is a Republican from Bozeman: senatorwittich@montana.com. SB 148's exemptions for entry essentially guts the provision of notifying and obtaining approval from landowners PRIOR to Dept. of Livestock inspectors coming onto private property to force buffalo to flee said property. Current law 81-2-120 does not permit livestock inspectors to trespass on private lands to harass and harm wild buffalo where they are welcomed and valued. There is no "public health and safety" threat where buffalo are permitted by landowners to be on their property. The logic of SB 148 begs the question: will elk become a "public health and safety" threat too?

http://laws.leg.mt.gov/laws11/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=148&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=SB&Z_ACTION=Find

SB 207 online: http://data.opi.mt.gov/bills/2011/billhtml/SB0207.htm

The primary sponsor Sen. Frederick "Eric" Moore is a Republican from Miles City: mail@senatorericmoore.com. SB 207 reclassifies ALL buffalo as livestock in Montana. The Dept. of Livestock is required to impose a permit and inspection system for buffalo coming into/out of any county, or into/out of state. "A person who purposely or knowingly transports wild or domestic buffalo or bison in violation of rules adopted pursuant to this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than $1,000 or be imprisoned in the county jail for not more than 6 months, or both." Prohibits buffalo to "run at large" and makes owners of said buffalo liable with penalties for trespass onto private property. SB 207 classifies any wild buffalo, including those from Yellowstone as "estrayed," permitting the Dept. of Livestock to take them.

http://laws.leg.mt.gov/laws11/LAW0210w$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_DFT_NO5=LC1050&Z_ACTION=Find

SB 212 online: http://data.opi.mt.gov/bills/2011/billhtml/SB0212.htm

The primary sponsor Sen. Rick Ripley is a Republican from Wolf Creek. SB 212 requires Fish, Wildlife & Parks to adopt a plan BEFORE any wild buffalo can be released onto private or public lands in Montana. The plan MUST include: animal identification, tracking and containment measures (fencing and removal methods) in "designated areas" and makes Fish, Wildlife & Parks liable for any costs incurred for damages to private property. Fish, Wildlife & Parks "may not release or transplant wild buffalo or bison on state or federal land in Montana if the relocation or transplantation would negatively affect any existing multiple use of the land, including livestock grazing."

http://laws.leg.mt.gov/laws11/LAW0210w$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_DFT_NO5=LC1052&Z_ACTION=Find#spon_table

HB 318 online: http://data.opi.mt.gov/bills/2011/billhtml/HB0318.htm

The primary sponsor Rep. Wendy Warburton is a Republican from Havre: wendywarburton@gmail.com. HB 318 requires the approval of County Commissioners BEFORE the Dept. of Livestock or Fish, Wildlife & Parks may permit wild buffalo or buffalo certified brucellosis free to be relocated in Montana in the counties affected.

http://laws.leg.mt.gov/laws11/LAW0210w$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_DFT_NO5=LC1049&Z_ACTION=Find

Thank you for taking action to protect America's last wild buffalo and their descendants as a valued wildlife species freely roaming Montana.

For the Buffalo,

Daniel Brister, Executive Director

Buffalo Field Campaign

Buffalo Field Campaign is the only group working in the field

and in the policy arena to protect America's last wild buffalo.