Last Day to Comment for Bison!!

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

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

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!