And now:Buffalo Folks <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Update from the field, December 21 The winter solstice brings us our coldest temperatures yet! When we woke up this morning it was -50 F. At this point, zero degrees would feel warm! The Department of Livestock has been busy over the last few weeks, chasing buffalo and waging their war of dis-information to the public. At one point in early December, there were over 100 buffalo outside of the park! It was quite a sight--one morning there were 40 buffalo, including mothers and yearlings all together in a field. Seeing them, you could almost imagine what the plains might have looked like a century ago. By December 11, the DOL had chased those buffalo back into the park at least seven times, only to find them right back in the same place the next day or in some cases the same day. It is amazing how far a buffalo will walk when it has made up its mind to be somewhere. DOL'ers on snowmobiles chased a group of buffalo over 12 miles back into the park, only to have them return the next day. It has been really sad to watch the harassment of these animals--they have to jump over fences, run down highways, and totally ignore what their instincts are telling them. At sunrise one morning, the DOL ended up hazing a herd of 100 elk over fences and back to the park. One elk even flipped over the fence and landed on its head--luckily we were there with our video cameras, and our footage was aired on national television. Media coverage is picking up throughout the region. The DOL continues to insist that they are protecting buffalo when nothing could be further from the truth. By forcing the buffalo to run in this weather, their actions can cause death just as certainly as shooting them. Buffalo need to be conserving their energy to travel along their traditional migration route to areas where they can access food and to survive the harsh weather. The most nonsensical part of the DOL's rationale is their insistence that their actions are protecting cattle from brucellosis. In actuality there are no cattle in the area until June! On December 14, Buffalo Nations and local supporters held a rally at the local district office of the Gallatin National Forest. It was probably the first protest they had ever seen there! We gathered to protest the Forest Service's approval for the DOL to build a new bison capture facility. Our signs got honks and waves of support from passing traffic, and local newspapers and television gave us prominent regional coverage. So far, the Forest Service has put a new gate near the site of the capture facility and has re-routed a snowmobile trail near the area, but the DOL has not yet begun to construct the facility. The agencies that are supposed to manage buffalo are deceiving the public at the buffalo's expense. Each continues to insist that they "hate to kill buffalo" when in reality all of their policies are in place and ready to begin the killing again. Our presence and voice is the only thing that will save buffalo from death this winter. Please help support our front lines campaign--we have volunteers coming from as far as England and Australia, and many who have never experienced such cold temperatures. We are in desperate need of warm gear--baliclava hats, super-warm mittens, wool socks, warm winter boots, and wool pants. We also need reliable snowmobiles, as this is the only way that we can follow the DOL everywhere they go. And volunteers are always needed--if you want to protect the buffalo, there is a bunk and warm place by our wood stove here for you! Always feel free to call the Department of Livestock to tell them that they aren't fooling anyone with their hazing activities. Demand that they allow the buffalo to roam freely outside of Yellowstone. Call toll-free in Montana 1-800-523-3162 or (406) 444-2023 and speak to Marc Bridges, acting director of the DOL. Buffalo Nations PO Box 957 West Yellowstone, MT 59758 406-646-0070 phone 406-646-0071 fax [EMAIL PROTECTED] ******************************************************************** Buffalo-talk is a service of Buffalo Nations and the Wild Rockies InfoNet at http://www.wildrockies.org. Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] News Submissions or Problems: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 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] ************************************************************************
