Bison Advocates Hold Rally on the Capitol Lawn in Montana
By LetBuffaloRoam, New West Unfiltered, 5-13-08
BUFFALO FIELD CAMPAIGN (BFC)
P.O. BOX 957
WEST YELLOWSTONE, MT 59758
406-646-0070
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org
* NEWS RELEASE *
BISON ADVOCATES HOLD RALLY ON THE CAPITOL LAWN
Gathering in Helena to Hold Schweitzer Accountable for Largest Slaughter Since 1800s
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 13, 2008
Press Contacts: Mike Bowersox, BFC, (5/13) 406-646-0070 (5/14 rally site) 416-622-2461
Stephany Seay, BFC, 406-646-0070
(HELENA, MT) – Wild bison advocates will gather in Helena, Montana, Wednesday, May 14th, on the lawn of the State Capitol, 1301 East Sixth Avenue, to draw attention to Governor Brian Schweitzer’s role in the largest wild bison slaughter since the 1800s and to ask him to leave bison alone on the Horse Butte Peninsula, an area where cattle never graze. The gathering will take place from 12:00 noon until 2:00 p.m. There will be speakers, street theatre and food provided by Seeds of Peace. The rally is open to everyone.
More than 1,600 wild American bison (buffalo) have been killed under state and federal management decisions this winter, resulting in the elimination of more than two-thirds of the last wild bison population left in the United States. There are fewer than 2,100 wild bison remaining, and winterkill is still underway. Yellowstone National Park is holding over 330 bison at the Stephens Creek bison trap awaiting spring green up. Seventy-seven wild bison calves have been born in the trap. 112 buffalo calves have been separated from their mothers and family groups and sent to quarantine pens near Corwin Springs, Montana.
“At the rally Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer and Yellowstone Superintendent Suzanne Lewis will be presented with the Buffalo Bill Award for killing the most wild bison since the late 19th century,” said BFC spokeswoman Stephany Seay. “They will be remembered for this shameful act that has devastated our national heritage, the American bison.”
In April, Governor Schweitzer and Yellowstone Superintendent Suzanne Lewis announced that no more bison would be slaughtered this season. However, the Montana Department of Livestock trapped and shipped to slaughter three bull bison from the Duck Creek area days after the announcement was made. The Department of Livestock is currently conducting bison hazing operations along the Park’s western boundary.
Schweitzer and Lewis also announced the near-completion of a land lease deal with the Church Universal & Triumphant (CUT) that would allow a small number of bison to temporarily occupy a fraction of their native habitat outside Yellowstone’s north boundary.
“CUT is receiving millions more in addition to the $13 million paid to them by U.S. taxpayers in the late 1990’s for a deal that never benefited wild bison,” said BFC’s co-founder Mike Mease. “This latest deal continues to harm wild bison, doesn’t stop the slaughter, and it is senseless that CUT should receive more millions after failing to uphold their end of the 1999 deal.”
Bison advocates call on Montana to cease harming bison, and allow them time to make it back on their own to summer ranges in Yellowstone’s interior, which could come mid to late June. In the upper Madison Valley and Hebgen Lake Basin, spring green up is late due to harsh weather, high elevation, heavy snowpack, and cooler temperatures than normal. Horse Butte is now permanently cattle-free. There are no cattle currently grazing in the Hebgen Lake region, and they may not be trucked into the region until early July. There is no risk of brucellosis transmission at this time. There has never been a documented case of wild bison transmitting brucellosis to cattle.
“We are asking Governor Schweitzer to adapt to changed circumstances, as the Interagency Bison Management Plan allows,” said BFC’s Mike Bowersox, the rally’s coordinator. “Ultimately, we urge him to pull Montana out of the Interagency Bison Management Plan and to permit bison to occupy Horse Butte and the Hebgen Lake basin.”
More than 1,700 wild American bison have been eliminated from the remaining wild population this winter under actions carried out under the Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP), as well as state and treaty hunts. Bison are a migratory species native to vast expanses of North America and are ecologically extinct everywhere in the United States outside of Yellowstone National Park. Buffalo Field Campaign strongly opposes the Interagency Bison Management Plan and maintains that wild bison should be respected as a valued native wildlife species and allowed to naturally and fully recover themselves throughout their historic native range, especially on public lands.
2007-2008 OVERVIEW OF INTERAGENCY BISON MANAGEMENT PLAN ACTIONS
TARGETING YELLOWSTONE BISON
Records of decision, environmental analysis, and public comment on the governing Interagency Bison Management Plan are online: http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/aboutbuffalo/bisonmanagementplan.html
The winter of 2007-2008 will be remembered as the largest scale wild buffalo slaughter since the 19th century. Since its inception in 2000, the multimillion taxpayer funded Interagency Bison Management Plan has eliminated over 3,660 wild buffalo from the Yellowstone ecosystem, mainly on public lands in America's flagship Yellowstone National Park and the Gallatin National Forest.
This season's slaughter or removal, which so far numbers over 1,716 wild buffalo, surpasses that of 1996-1997 when 1,084 buffalo were killed.
One-third of the entire Yellowstone herd has been wiped out with 1,276 buffalo trapped and shipped to slaughter houses on order from officials in the National Park Service under Superintendent Suzanne Lewis. Six bison were shot in the field for migrating into a drop-dead zone near Yankee Jim Canyon and Maiden Basin along the Yellowstone River.
As of May 12, 2008, Yellowstone National Park reports 330 wild buffalo remain trapped at Stephens Creek inside the park awaiting release. Seventy seven buffalo calves were born in captivity. Several calves were born dead or died shortly after birth inside the trap. Seven wild buffalo died or were euthanized as a result of injuries while held in National Park Service's trap at Stephens Creek.
One hundred twelve buffalo calves have been separated from their mothers and family groups and sent to quarantine pens near Corwin Springs, Montana operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Those calves are in addition to 45 buffalo quarantined at Slip N Slide near Dome Mountain.
The Montana Department of Livestock under Governor Brian Schweitzer has targeted buffalo in hazing operations that have so far this year led to the capture of 149 wild bison migrating into the upper Madison Valley and Hebgen Lake Basin and their subsequent shipment to slaughterhouses.
The State of Montana's hunt ended in February 2008 with 63 wild buffalo killed. Nez Perce hunted 64 buffalo under treaty rights. Salish-Kootenai also hunted 39 buffalo this season. The Park Service's summer count estimated 4,700 buffalo. It is uncertain how many buffalo remain from this season's slaughter and winterkill.
Yellowstone National Park released a late winter bison count which estimated that the bison numbered 2,145 as of April 11, 2008. Yellowstone National Park observed 1,970 bison but sightability indexes and population modeling increases the estimated bison population. The number of bison remaining is likely below 2,000 given April-May winter kill is still on-going. Yellowstone National Park projects "at least 400 to 700 additional animals may die due to predation, malnutrition, other natural causes (e.g. drowning), or motor vehicle accidents during winter." (Interagency Bison Management Plan report, 16 April through 30 April 2008).
Buffalo Field Campaign is the only group working in the field, every day, to stop the slaughter of the wild American buffalo. Volunteers defend the buffalo and their habitat and advocate for their lasting protection. BFC has proposed real alternatives to the current mismanagement of American bison that can be viewed at http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/solutions.html. For more information, video clips and photos visit: http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org ###
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Comments
As for Ms. Lewis, there are no words to say how much damage she has already done. I can only hope that she is a dreaded Republican, as there can be no other reason for her actions regarding the buffalo. How can we go about making sure that she is removed from her position before any more damage is done?
What a world we live in.......
Why not haze Bison ONLY when they enter cattle pastures? Why chase these animals across the highway, knowing they will turn around and recross (usually in the dark) and become traffic hazards. These Policies have no validity. It's amazing that the animals being hazed have more brains than the ones doing the hazing.