Posted by Buffalo Folks <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> : Greetings! Things have been busy at Camp: a variety of trainings; workshops; eagle monitoring; and field patrols have kept the volunteers busy. Thus far, only one buffalo has migrated out of the Park. The MT. Department of Livestock has decided that the old bull can't even have a little winter peace. They have been harassed him and they also assaulted one of our volunteers with a snowmobile. Story at: http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo/press99/releas03.html. It is ridiculous that a bull buffalo at this time of the year poses any risk of transmitting brucellosis--Montana's so-called reason for hazing and slaughtering buffalo. It is further proof that Montana has only one agenda: zero tolerance of any buffalo leaving Yellowstone, and want complete control of the herd. Montana's policy of controlling buffalo movement and population levels in the guise of brucellosis management has become painfully apparent in their recent maneuvers. Even the U. S. Government has publicly stated that Montana is acting irrationally and without scientific basis. They say that Montana no longer wants to try and work on this issue with the State as a co-lead agency. They recently filed a petition in Federal Court to dissolve the Memorandum of Understanding that bound the federal agencies with Montana as co-leads on the Longterm Buffalo Management EIS in Montana and Yellowstone. Even though the feds compromised their preferred alternative considerably in the direction that the State wanted (in defiance of more than 60,000 comments on the DEIS that called for less stringent management techniques), Montana Governor Marc Racicot still publicly insists that this isn't good enough, and that a compromise is possible. Given the DOL's current management philosophy, nothing will suit the state until they have eliminated the possibility that wild buffalo can roam on Montana's soils. This is where we need your help. 10 minutes of your time and 2 phone calls/letters can make all the difference. See below... The folks at Nightline were in camp last week, and there will be a piece on Nightline during the week of the 7th as well as a piece on A&E later in the month. We'll send ya' a note when we find out exactly when. Thanks for all your great letters and donations! We are only a thousand dollars away from meeting our anonymous donor's match! A hearty thanks also goes out to Community Foundation of Jackson Hole as well as the Pegasus Foundation and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and Honor the Earth for supporting the Buffalo Field Campaign! Thanks to all! For the Buffalo! ________________________________________________________________________ You also can check out some new info on our web site. Particularly, check out Dan Brister's article on Negligent Endangerment at: http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo/speak/danB1.html. ________________________________________________________________________ Please take a sec and make a phone call or write a letter before February 4th. Phone/ Write: Montana Governor Marc Racicot Capitol Building Helena, Montana 59620 Phone: (406)444-3111 Fax: (406)444-4151 or the citizens' advocate at (in-state) 800-332-2272 or (406) 444-3468 Marc hasn't figured out how to use Email yet. But his Press Secretary has and can be reached at: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] and can probably pass it along. Please CC: to Mark O'Keefe; State Auditor Capitol Building Helena, Montana 59620 phone : (406) 444-2040, or (in- state only) 1-800-332-6148. email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Mark O'Keefe is the leading Democrat contender for the Montana Governor's seat. Due to the term limits Montana enacted in 1992, most elected state officials can only hold office for eight years. This also portends well for the Montana State Legislature, that has been disproportionately controlled by the "good old boys,"--those folks that voted down buffalo legislation in the last session that would have gone a long ways towards easing the situation for the buffalo. 2nd call or letter to: USDA Secretary Daniel Glickman (Telephone: 202-720-3631; Fax: 202-720-2166) 200 A Whitten Bldg., 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20250 e-mail: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Please CC to: President Bill Clinton Pres. Bill Clinton; email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] The White House mailing address is: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington, D.C. 20500 Phone: (202) 456-1414 Fax: (202) 456-2461 "The National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service plan to do over the next 10 years what the State of Montana has done to the buffalo for the last 10 years... and more" said Darrell Geist, Executive Director of Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers a Missoula-based environmental and human rights group. "2000 holy cows will continue to range on public lands at taxpayer expense while buffalo are denied that range and killed for trying to migrate there." Talking Points: * The State of Montana is incompetent in their management of the buffalo and should not be co-lead on management decisions. Wildlife biologists, not cattle ranchers should be making management decisions about the last population of wild buffalo. Trained field biologists, not off-season and unemployed highway workers (that the DOL hires) should be managing the animals in the field. * Federal lands should be used for wildlife as intended instead of cows. Bald Eagles (like the nesting pair at Horse Butte adjacent to the Horse Butte Capture Facility) and the last wild buffalo should take precedent over leases to out of state ranchers. * This unique wild herd of buffalo should be given protected status and managed accordingly. * Tax payers' monies should not be used to continue this mismanagement. * Wild buffalo should be protected at all cost... for the benefit of the Yellowstone ecosystem as well as our children's and our cultural heritage. * Brucellosis is a myth. Why is it that over 100,000 elk that also carry brucellosis are allowed to wander freely while the 2,000 surviving buffalo are harassed? The superior genetics traits of the herd, those of resistance to brucellosis as well as genetic memory of traditional migration to winter grazing lands are being sacrificed due to non scientific based management. * The citizens of the U.S. will not idly stand by and continue to watch this slaughter. Write from your heart! for the buffalo! Together we can be heard.... __________________________________________________ Note the Federal Court hearing on dissolving the State-Federal agreement on the Longterm EIS was moved to 2/4/00. There will be a rally in Helena on Friday. Write [EMAIL PROTECTED] for more info. http://www.billingsgazette.com/ Federal judge orders officials to meet over bison dispute HELENA (AP) - A judge has ordered state and federal government officials to show up in court later this month to discuss their stalemate over developing a mutual plan for managing diseased Yellowstone National Park bison. U.S. District Judge Charles C. Lovell of Helena on Wednesday said he will oversee one more attempt by the two sides to resolve their differences over what the management plan should look like. He scheduled the hearing for Jan. 28. He also agreed to rule on the state's request for a court order preventing the U.S. Departments of Interior and Agriculture from proceeding with development of the plan without the state's involvement. "Because the Yellowstone National Park bison freely roam from time to time across the jurisdictions of both parties, any lasting solution to the management of this herd seemingly requires the participation of both parties," Lovell wrote. His order comes about a week after the state asked Lovell to block the federal government from pulling out of negotiations with Montana over a long-range blueprint for handling bison when they leave the park in search of winter forage. Work on the plan has been under way for four years and that effort should not be wasted by the federal agencies continuing on their own, the state argued. The federal government asked Lovell on Dec. 13 for permission to abandon the cooperative effort, saying it was fed up with the state's steadfast opposition to allowing bison to remain outside the park. Many of the animals are believed to carry brucellosis, which can cause cows to abort. The livestock industry fears the disease could be transmitted to their cattle and that would require expensive testing before beef could be shipped out of state. Shooting became the primary method of controlling the migrating bison, a practice that caused a national outcry after 1,100 were killed in the winter of 1996-97. Hazing has been used more in the past two mild winters. The state, frustrated with what it perceived as a reluctance to help resolve the bison problem, sued the federal government in 1995. As part of a settlement of the suit, both governments agreed to work together on a long-term management plan. Lovell called it disappointing that the two governments have apparently reached an impasse and federal officials want to proceed on its own. "Where so much progress has been made and a goal is almost in sight, I do not believe that the United States should take this unilateral action without the court first hearing and resolving Montana's objections and motions," Lovell said. He ordered a Jan. 28 hearing and told the state and federal governments to have officials there with the power to make binding agreements. Most likely, that would be Gov. Marc Racicot and Yellowstone Superintendent Michael Finley, he said. In addition to considering the state's request to block federal withdrawal from the planning process, Lovell said he will supervise a closed-door meeting for both sides "to make one final effort to resolve these differences." Both governments must submit to him by Jan. 21 confidential letters describing the issues over which they disagree and suggestions for reaching a settlement, he said. _____________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ To find out the "in the field" info directly from Buffalo Field Campaign go to: http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo Getting the word out is critical and BFC is the only group working 365 days a year in Yellowstone with the buffalo. _________________________________________ 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... please take a moment and look at your local paper and send us contact info for the editor. Both email and fax are appreciated! please send contact info to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ************************************************************************ List-Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] List-Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] News Submissions or Problems: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
