DOI says Slaughter Bison

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

Help Us Get 3,000 Signatures in 3 Days!

Montana Trap-Free Public Lands I-160

Last Chance To Sign the Petition!

Deadline Friday, June 18

Come to the Medical Arts Building

On Last Chance Gulch,

Across from the Parrot

Wednesday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Thursday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Friday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Help make our public lands safe for people, pets and wildlife, restore our waters, rebuild Montana’s habitat.

Signature Gathering in Helena for I-160

For the past week I've been helping Montana Trap Free Public Lands gather signatures in Helena for their ballot initiative, I-160. The initiative would prohibit the commercial and recreational trapping of wild animals on public lands in Montana. Yes, this old cruel sport still continues...
This initiative has been approved not only by the Attorney General's Office, but by FWP's lawyer.

Trapping not only hurts wildlife, but has killed many many peoples' dogs and even people have stepped in these traps not knowing they were there because it's NOT a law to mark traps. The laws for trapping are extremely lax.

Trappers make up only a few thousand people in the state. Less than .5 of 1% of the population in MT traps. Yet, there are literally 10's of thousands of traps on public lands--which make up only 35% of the state.

Gathering signatures has surprisingly been easy. There are always 1 or 2 people on a given day who are upset with the initiative for many reasons:

• Trapping is someones livelihood.
• Public land is open to ALL forms of recreation.
• If adults, kids, or pets get caught in a trap the adults or parents are "idiots" and irresponsible for not watching where they go, keeping an eye on their kids or putting their dog on a leash.

I've met lots of people who know someone whose dog has been caught in a trap. I've also met people who don't even know trapping is legal.

There are ALOT of people who dislike trapping as this public opinion poll in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle shows.

The public doesn't want trapping to continue on public lands. Why should a few thousand people in this state have TOTAL control over them? This is why America has provided its citizens with the power to change old out-dated laws.

How Much Land is Used for Livestock?

I've said before cattle is a billion $ industry here. In 2006 the state made $1.1 billion. Many of the sales were to: Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas. According to MT DEQ. (photo by Jason Stajich)
This billion $ industry is destroying the native landscape. The home of wildlife. Here's a run down of how much land is being destroyed for this non-native invasive species. Montana itself is comprised of 93 million acres.

• 38 million acres is pasture and range land. That's more than a third of the state!
• 18 million is used for crops. (What a waste when it could be used for livestock :P)
• Up to 13,000 acres a year are becoming ranch land for livestock.

Cattle is a huge issue across the entire U.S. I was reading an article in the IR that the US exports of milk is down from 11% to 5%, which means there is too much milk b/c there are too many cows. So, the solution? Kill over 100,000 cows across the country! Surprisingly or not, Montana isn't slaughtering any.

The cattle industry is all about greed. Cattle are not a native species and shouldn't be here. Nature agrees. In March and April Montana was hit by blizzards causing 4,000 livestock in Powder River and Carter counties to die. More died in Glacier, Teton, and Lewis and Clark counties.