Posted by Buffalo Folks <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> :
In this Issue of Stop-the Slaughter
ƒƒ UPDATE FROM Camp & Buffalo Soldiers take Position;Article
ƒƒ Demo held Monday; December 13th
ƒƒ January 9th, 2000 Day of Prayer
ƒƒ Media Articles URL's
Quick Note: A gracious donor has offered to match any contributions
dollar for dollar for a limited time. Please consider sending a tax
deductible donation in as part of this match. All donations are used
for FRONTLINES work for the buffalo! please write "email match" in
the memo.
Mail to: Buffalo Field Campaign (formerly Buffalo Nations); PO Box
957; West Yellowstone, MT 59758
BFC is the only group in the field with the buffalo 365 days of the
years...no glitzy offices for these hard workin' folks!
Thanks!
BFC camp volunteers will be in the field watchin' the buffalo over
the holidays as others supporters will be recharging their energy
with friends and family.
Wishing you and yours a happy and peaceful holiday season!
For the Earth and all her creatures!
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UPDATE From the Camp
The snow is falling and the buffalo are starting their migration out of the
park. This week we have a recon plane flight over the Park, all
courtesy of Project Lighthawk. This will enable us to see how close
the buffalo are to
the (invisible) park boundaries.
Lighthawk has also committed to help this winter doing flyovers of
the Duck Creek and Horse Butte capture facilities. This will enable
us to monitor the DOL and check the numbers of captured buffalo and
their condition. Now that the Duck Creek capture facility has been
moved this will be our only way to monitor that facility. The cost
of a flyover is $60 an hour. Any contributions towards this would be
greatly appreciated and of course is tax deductible.
So far this year, we have had 71 volunteers from around the world.
Over 30 of these people are veteran return volunteers. These people
are dedicated individuals and rest assured the buffalo have good
allies.
Thank you for all of your support and efforts and we invite you to
come out and be a part of this fine operation.
For the Buffalo,
Michael S. Mease
Campaign Coordinator, Buffalo Field Campaign
Buffalo Soldiers Take Position
Yellowstone's bison are on the move, and so are their defenders.
A thin crust of snow covers the sage flats and pine meadows of West
Yellowstone, Montana, as the Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) swings into its
third season. Volunteers are stacking firewood, setting up teepees, dusting
off skis, and generally gearing up for another season of daily bison-defense
patrols. Sixty-one volunteers have already checked in for the 1999-2000
campaign, and BFC co-founder Mike Mease expects the number to surpass last
year's record of 250 volunteers.
The goal is literally to save the bisons' lives. As the winter grows harsher,
many of Yellowstone's 2,500 bison -- the last wild remnants of the vast herds
that once roamed the US -- are expected to descend from the park's high
country to search for fresh grazing land. This migration is a natural survival
tactic for the bison -- but one that poses a threat to their lives should they
stray over the state line into Montana. Under a 1996 federal law, Montana has
the right to kill any bison found outside of Yellowstone that tests positive
for brucellosis, a bacterial disease that poses a threat to the state's
domestic cattle herds.
Most scientists agree that the chances of Yellowstone bison actually infecting
Montana's cattle are slight. Still, Montana officials say that if they do not
control the brucellosis threat, other states may ban imports of their cattle.
That concern led Montana officials to kill some 1,100 bison in 1996 -- nearly
half the park's population at the time. The slaughter galvanized a group of
activists to form the BFC. Since 1997, the campaigners have worked to monitor
the park's bison and shoo them back to safety when they stray towards the
park's boundaries.
This year, winter has come later than expected. Snow levels are still low in
Yellowstone National Park, and this has encouraged the main bison herd to stay
at higher elevations within park boundaries. But when the winter storms hit,
the bison will start moving down, looking for better grazing in the valleys
west and north of Yellowstone. When that happens, Montana's Department of
Livestock agents will be waiting for them.
There has only been one fatality this year, albeit a particularly
controversial one. In late September, a dead buffalo was found near a DOL
capture facility, minus its head, cape, hide, and genitalia. Dale Koelzer, who
owns the land on which the facility is housed, has been charged with illegally
killing the animal.
According to US government sources, Montana has not signaled any intention to
relax its official anti-bison policies this winter. In November, the DOL's
executive officer, Marc Bridges, wrote an editorial in local newspapers
announcing the state's intentions to carry out the same
capture-test-and-slaughter program as it had in past years. Bridges ended his
op-ed piece with an ominous observation: "Fortunately, the park's current
bison population is reportedly at least five times above the number scientists
say is required to assure the long term viability and survival of the herd."
In other words, the livestock bureaucrat thinks that 2,000 out of 2,500
buffalo could be killed without harming the last wild herd in America.
"We're afraid the DOL is going to try to kill as many bison as they can this
year," says Mike Mease. "With (Montana) Gov. Racicot going out office next
year, it could be their last chance." When and if the slaughter begins, Mease
says the Buffalo Field Campaign will be ready.
Contact BFC at:
Buffalo Field Campaign
406-646-0070 phone
406-646-0071 fax
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo
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Demo held on Monday... Buffalo protesters take campaign to courthouse
By JOHN MILLER; Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer; 12/14/1999
Full story at:
http://database.newswest.com/cgi-bin/T3CGI.exe/bdc/bdcNews.taf?functio
n=detail&Local_uid1=21384
Excerpts:
'Ten members of the Buffalo Field Campaign picketed the Law and Justice
Center Monday morning, where admitted buffalo shooter Dale Koelzer's
lawyer appeared in Gallatin County Justice Court.'
'Koelzer has admitted shooting the animal, but has insisted it was
threatening his truck and making him mad. Koelzer is also charged
with possession of an unlawfully killed animal on or about Sept. 30
when he "possessed the head, hide and cape of a wild buffalo." The
buffalo's head, hide and genitals were missing when Mease found the
carcass.'
'Bartlett said ... that Koelzer has killed "two or three" buffalo in
the past on his land when they have bothered him, and state livestock
officials removed the animals on those occasions without charging
him.'
'"I think (Koelzer) complied with the statutes," he said. "If a jury
believes the buffalo was molesting him, he's got a right to shoot
it."'
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January 9th, 2000 Day of Prayer
Friends
I would like to keep you all in our prayers this year. Ehnamani and
the Buffalo Field Campain has tentatively set the date of Jan 9 2000 as a
date of prayer for a peaceful resolve to the Buffalo issue. We encourage
you to spread the word to come together as a whole for the purpose of
prayer that the future generations can see we prayed for them and asking
for the blessing of the White Calf. We encourage you to set aside time
on the 9th of January at noon your time to join us a world prayer for
the buffalo.
Scott Frazier
For info: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Dec 1999
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FYI...Press on the Issue
ƒ article on BFC in MotherJones Magazine-
http://www.motherjones.com/news_wire/bisonupdate.html
ƒ Winter comes to Yellowstone; Ushering in another bison kill; By
Wynona LaDuke - Special to Indian Country Today-
http://indiancountry.com/headlines.html#articlethree
ƒ Internet interview with BFC at "The Great Shift With Fred Sterling"
on December 26, between 6 & 9 on the Liberty Works Radio Network and
globally on the Internet via www.inward.com, www.broadcast.com
ALSO-
ƒ The GAO has finished the report on the Long Range EIS on Bison
Management that was request by Reps Campbell and Shays. You can get a
pdf copy of the report by going to the following link.
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/rc00007.pdf :Wildlife Management:
Negotiations on a Long-Term Plan for Managing Yellowstone Bison Still
Ongoing
Volunteers needed: http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo/field989/volnteer.html
Newsletters are still available for distribution in your community;
contact mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
___________________________________________________________
New Compilation Buffalo Video Available
Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers has a compilation video available on the
Yellowstone buffalo. Plan B, The Buffalo's Alternative is a brief
scientific advocacy piece on long-term management strategies to allow
buffalo to roam free in Yellowstone. Buffalo Bull is a more in-depth
documentary on the Yellowstone buffalo slaughter. Where the Buffalo
Roam profiles the field campaign and their efforts to protect the
Yellowstone buffalo herd. To purchase the video send a check or money
order for $20 to Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers; PO Box 7941 Missoula MT
59807.
Elders and educators can receive a video at a discount please send a
query to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] or call our office at
406-728-0867.
_________________________________
Getting the word out is key... if you are a webmaster or know of a
webmaster who would like to receive web press releases concerning the
buffalo (not more than 1/week) please send contact info to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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