---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1998 13:59:52 -0700 From: Buffalo Folks <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Stop the Slaughter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Buffalo News..Please take a moment! Included in this update: * Action Alert: Comments on Horse Butte Buffalo Trap Due on January 13, 1999 (Note: When you write your comment letter, why not make 5 copies and have friends send them in??.. For the Buffalo!..Remember it is critical to include postal address when commenting via email and personalized letters are better than form letters, if possible) *Ceremony for The Buffalo at West Yellowstone on January 9th 12 noon at the Buffalo Nations Compound * A Winter Plea for Buffalo Nation's volunteers Happy 1999 May it be a better year for earth and all her creatures! ___________________________________________________________________________ ************* Action Alert: Comments on Horse Butte Buffalo Trap Due on January 13, 1999 *************** Howdy folks, Please take some time to read and respond to the request for comments on the Horse Butte Buffalo Trap Environmental Assessment and support Alternative 3: the No Action (No Capture Facility) Alternative. And thanks to all of you who responded to our request for comments on the first phase of this misguided project. Though the Forest Service only sent out scoping notices to about 13 organizations, they received 502 comments, with over 300 of them coming via email!! Keep up the good work! As of December 30th, the Montana DOL has yet to begin construction of the facility, though they have put up a gate and plowed roads to the proposed location, and have relocated snowmobile routes. They also have asked the USDA for the funds to construct and operate the facility, though APHIS has only committed itself to providing half of the construction cost ($50,000), and hasn't decided on the operating expenses (appx. $500,000). This is our last opportunity to object before they start capturing and hauling buffalo to the slaughter house. Jim Coefield mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ____________________________________________ On December 14, 1998, the Gallatin National Forest released the Environmental Assessment (EA) on the Horse Butte Buffalo Capture Facility. Comments on the EA are due by January 13, 1998. This is the second phase of the trap permitting process. The first phase was when the Montana Department of Livestock (DOL) requested a Special Use Permit and that the Forest Service grant a Categorical Exclusion (CE) to expedite the process. CE's cannot be appealed, and are either granted in emergencies, or when the proposal doesn't rise to a certain level of significance. Obviously, issuing an EA for this proposal underscores its significance, and the inability of the CE to stand on its own. In an odd, and most likely illegal planning maneuver, the Gallatin NF split the project into these two phases. The first phase authorized construction of the trap at the main Horse Butte site (Alternative 1 at Site 2A) and granted authority to operate it until January 31, 1999. The second phase, which this EA would authorize, also analyzes an alternative site (Alternative 1, Site X) to the one authorized in the CE, and looks at operating the facility for the next 10 years. The Chief of the Forest Service also granted an exemption from the automatic stay provisions of the appeal regulations. This means that even though parties may appeal the EA decision, the Chief will allow the project to proceed during the appeal process. This leaves us with a lawsuit as our only remedy. What does this all mean? It's a done deal! The heck with public process and opinion. The DOL wants the authority to construct and operate this facility at all costs, even illegal ones. The no action alternative (Alternative 3) is the only logical solution. Unfortunately, the no action alternative already has been rendered invalid by the CE's allowing the Forest Service to issue the Special Permit (which it already has done) for the construction and operation of the facility. "The No Action Alternative would constitute a decision not to issue a special use permit to the DOL for the installation or operation of a bison capture facility in the Horse Butte area." (from the EA) In other words, there isn't any possibility that the Forest Service will chose the no action alternative, because the permit already has been issued. Double speak extraordinaire. The main issues: * The trap will be placed in a location where the greatest concentrations of buffalo are. Buffalo will be lured into the trap by baiting with hay or by hazing. All animals will be tested for brucellosis. All "pregnant females and animals testing positive would be transported from the site for disposal." That means slaughter. * The preferred alternative (Alternative 1 at Site A2) would locate the trap within 1/2 mile of a bald eagle nesting site. The so-called reason for splitting the project into two parts (CE and EA) rests with the Bald Eagle (a threatened species) situation. Until February 1st, the project would not necessarily violate Bald Eagle management guidelines. After that day, the nest site is considered to be active, and a higher level of restrictions on human activity kicks in. The Gallatin NF's solution? A site specific Forest Plan Amendment to exempt the project from Bald Eagle guidelines and to exempt it from visual quality standards. Don't like restrictions? Sweep them under the carpet. * The Gallatin already has shown its unwillingness to enforce Bald Eagle closures. Last winter a DOL hazing operation violated a special closure around the Horse Butte nesting site by flying a helicopter through the area and actually landing in the area. Buffalo Nations and Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers have video documentation of the violation. Helicopter? What helicopter? I don't see no helicopter. * The Forest Service's whole logic with permitting the trap rests on the notion that if they allow the capture facility, then only animals that test positive to brucellosis or pregnant females (even if they test negative) will be slaughtered. They infer many times that without the trap, more animals will be slaughtered through indiscriminate shooting. The EA refuses to examine the issue of brucellosis transmission from buffalo to cattle. But how can you determine that there is a need for an action (slaughtering buffalo) without discussing the scientific data (or lack thereof) on transmission of brucellosis from buffalo to cows. Cows are not even present in the area until June, and it is an accepted scientific fact that if the buffalo move back into the Park 30-60 days prior to cattle being moved into the area, that there is no risk of transmission. * Horse Butte is a beautiful area surrounded on three sides by water. The facility will be located at the neck of it. It is traditional winter/nesting/birthing grounds for not only the endangered bald eagle and the buffalo but elk, deer, swans, pelicans and other many species. Make sure to include the following points in your comments: * Demand that the Forest Service adopt the "no action" alternative, which will not allow the trap to be built or operated, and to rescind the Special Use Permit that the CE allowed. * Splitting the DOL's Special Use Permit request into a CE and an EA violates NEPA by segmenting the trap project into two connected actions. This is illegal. * Exempting the trap from Bald Eagle protection guidelines in the Forest Plan (by amending the Plan) is wrong, and will not exempt the trap from provisions of the Endangered Species Act that protect threatened and endangered species. * Reducing buffalo population numbers in the ecosystem through unnatural processes (trapping and slaughter) impacts the grizzly bear by removing an essential food source (winter killed and weakened animals) in the spring. * Demand that the Forest Service adopt scientifically based "risk management" techniques instead of the DOL's "zero tolerance" approach to buffalo management. These risk management tactics are discussed more fully in Plan B and the Bison Alternative (independently developed alternatives to the EIS on Bison Management in Yellowstone and Montana that is in progress). * There are many other issues involved with this proposal with other threatened and endangered species, local residents, snowmobiling, etc. If you take the time to read the EA, you'll discover many other things to comment on. Thanks! ______________________ Please send your comments (by Jan 13th), or requests for further information to: Olleke Rappe-Daniels USDA Forest Service R1 HQ 200 E. Broadway Box 7669 Missoula, MT 59807 ph: 406-329-3028 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] CC: to Mike Dombeck Chief, Forest Service, Auditor's Bldg 201 14th Street, S.W. at Independence Ave., S.W. Washington, DC 20024 202-205-1661. mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you send your comments by email, make sure to include your name and address so that the Forest Service can fully analyze the range of comments, and where they come from. For more information, you can view the EA online at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/gallatin/bison/index.html You also can check out our web pages for more information in general about the buffalo situation in Yellowstone National Park: Buffalo Nations: http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo/ Stop the Slaughter: http://www.wildrockies.org/bison/ Plan B: http://www.wildrockies.org/PlanB/ _____________________________________________________________ ************* Ceremony for The Buffalo at West Yellowstone on January 9th 12 noon *************** As well I wanted to let you and everyon know that Ehnamani, a Non for profit Native American Chuch will be holding a ceremony for The Buffalo at West Yellowstone on January 9th 12 noon at the Buffalo Nations Compound...Please tell all that you know to attend or send prayers.. Thank You and good luck.. For info: Scott Frazier at [EMAIL PROTECTED] For directions: [EMAIL PROTECTED] or 406.646.0070 ________________________________________________________________ ******* A Winter Plea for volunteers at Buffalo Nations ******* Dear Friends of the Buffalo, I had the good fortune to visit the Buffalo Nations field camp this past weekend in West Yellowstone. It was great to see so many people there. Morale was high and one could not mistake the camaraderie of the volunteers who have come to defend the buffalo from the state of Montana and the Department of Livestock (DOL). During my visit to West Yellowstone temperatures dipped to -35F below zero -- not counting the wind chill. The next day it was -50F below. Even with two wood stoves in the cabin it was tough to stay warm. I asked the volunteers what they needed to stay dry and warm. Below is a list of clothing and gear items they gave to me: Arctic Mittens Handliners Pullovers/Sweaters Full-faced Masks Wool Pants Long Underwear Carhart Overalls Parkas Boots Sock Liners Hand/foot warmers Scarves Air Mattresses Foam cushions Thick blankets Sleeping bags (-10 to-60) UV-protected sunglasses Patrol carrying packs Emergency blankets Snow shoes With temperatures far below -0F in West Yellowstone all clothing and gear needs for Buffalo Nations volunteers must be designed for extreme weather conditions. Fabric materials must keep people dry (wick moisture off) and warm. Wool, Polyproplyene, Synchilla, Capilene, Gore-Tex, Qualofill, and the like are appropriate fabrics for extreme weather conditions. There are approximately 15 to 20 volunteers at any one time in Yellowstone. If you have any questions about a donation you would like to make, please contact Sue Nackoney or Michael Mease at the Buffalo Nations field camp 406-646-0070 or [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your donation is greatly appreciated and tax-deductible. Having spent previous winters filming the DOL shooting buffalo as they wander outside Yellowstone National Park, I can truly say that the organized presence of Buffalo Nations volunteers has saved and continues to save Yellowstone's magnificent buffalo. Without a constant field presence the DOL would surely be killing buffalo at will. Buffalo Nations has turned the tide and no longer will the DOL have a free rein to slaughter one of the last wild buffalo herds left in the United States. On behalf of Buffalo Nation's volunteers, please open your hearts and help them obtain the clothing and gear that will keep them safe and healthy this winter. Please pray for the safety of the buffalo and for the safety and well being of the people who are protecting them every day. Please pass this plea along to friends, family and businesses who can help. Thank you! for the buffalo, Darrell Geist, President Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers PO Box 7941 Missoula, Montana USA 59807 406-728-0867 phone 406-327-1209 fax [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.wildrockies.org/cmcr __________________________________________________ Our web pages are being updated ... http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo It is time to rally Buffalo allies before the killing begins again! Please pass this update on to 7 friends. If you receive this, please subscribe to stay updated (2-3 updates per month) [EMAIL PROTECTED] the most current news from the field!!! List-Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] List-Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] News Submissions or Problems: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ************************************************************************
