Russia to Send Wolves to Sweden

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?

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

 

Download PDF version of letter

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

Elk Protected, Bison Hazed & More

Click here to view this as webpage

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

------------------------------
------------------------------
* 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!

------------------------------
*  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! 

------------------------------
* 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.

------------------------------
* 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.

------------------------------
* 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!
------------------------------
--

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!

Tell-a-Friend!

Take Action!

     ROAM FREE!   

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

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

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!

------------------------------
* 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

------------------------------
* 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.  

------------------------------
* 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

-----------------------------
* 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!

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

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!

Tell-a-Friend!

Take Action!

  ROAM FREE!   

Click here to unsubscribe.

Idaho Declares Disaster Emergency

"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

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

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

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

Department of Livestock agent Mark AndersonMark 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

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

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?!

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

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

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!

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

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.