New West Network

My Page: Jim Macdonald

The map on the left, courtesy of Buffalo Field Campaign, shows bison herds and migrations inside of and outside of Yellowstone National Park. All the problems with and all the inspiration we have of buffalo herds must take these migrations into account.

Humans have an issue with migration because the variance in movement often comes against boundaries that humans have set up. Many Americans have trouble with the migration of people, especially from Mexico, who are often escaping the economic boundaries placed on their own existence by global trade policies - many of them promoted by American politicians. Boundaries create boundaries, and the consequences of the boundaries often create unexpected movements. In 1872, Congress set aside Yellowstone National Park, with boundaries that have not changed a great deal since then. No one could communicate with the animals those boundaries, but each animal has had its movement impacted by those boundaries and others.

Bison, in particular, are bound by the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park, by the movements of its visitors, of its vehicles, but they are also bound by other policy considerations. They are bound by those who control lands both public and private. They are prevented from moving by those who put the values of livestock industry interests ahead of their movements -just as the park boundary prevents those interests from moving cattle and other livestock. They are physically prevented by park rangers and agents from Montana's Department of Livestock, who make sure that bison stay out of Montana. Yet, the boundaries also set up the terms of migration. Because bison need to move by the boundaries of winter, of the need to eat, they move. They move across boundaries.

In that context, some of the bounded entities within the boundary of the United States, groups with very conflicting missions, have been thrust together to manage the movements of bison and to determine their fate. The bounded partners created a new bounding document--one called adaptive because presumably the boundaries can shift, though how and why is a mystery - called the Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP). With that, the lords of the border - the ICE of Yellowstone - enforce a reality on buffalo, who continue to roam as they must.

And, what a mess it has been! More bison were killed last winter (1,613) than at any time since the 19th century. More than half the herds in Yellowstone from the previous fall are now dead, some killed because they could not move away from the winter. Now, the partners of the IBMP have been meeting the past couple days here in Bozeman to consider the parameters of their torture and death, to determine the appropriate ways to implement the plan without ever considering whether the border that has been set up makes any sense at all. [more]

Brucellosis outbreak where there are no bison shows that IBMP is not working for buffalo or for cows.

(Bozeman, Mont.) – The grassroots citizens group Buffalo Allies of Bozeman responded to the Monday announcement of brucellosis in a cattle herd in the Paradise Valley with a challenge to Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer to withdraw from the Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP). [more]

(Bozeman, Mont.) – In a winter where more wild buffalo have been killed than at any time since the 19th century in and near Yellowstone National Park, concerned local residents in the Bozeman area have formed Buffalo Allies of Bozeman – a new grassroots group taking action on behalf of the American bison.

“We believed we needed to build a community of action so that the slaughter we have seen this year, where over 1,600 animals have been killed, never happens again,” said Mel Schroeder, one of the members of Buffalo Allies of Bozeman. [more]

As Yellowstone's buffalo population plummets from 4,700 to 2,300, people have questioned whether this is a serious issue, whether those acting for the buffalo might spend their time in better ways. At the same time, other mainstream environmental groups have promoted a deal the Park Service and the governor of Montana have announced this week, which though they claim is flawed, they promote as a good "first step." "Is this a good step, or is there something else we might be doing?" is a question one might ask of both. As an advocate for buffalo but a critic of the deal announced last week, how can I answer that question - that I should be acting on behalf of buffalo in Yellowstone but reject that we should be taking the route proposed by the mainstream environmental groups? This essay aims to answer both. The common thread that clarifies how we should look at this is a rejection of basing our ethical decisions on utilitarianism, or the belief that we should always "act for the greatest good for the greatest number." [more]

Chief Arvol Looking Horse led a prayer ceremony for the buffalo inside Yellowstone National Park, outside of the Stephens Creek capture facility, from which a record number of buffalo have been shipped to slaughter. This is a report, (not of the prayer ceremony itself, which was not recorded), of the day in context of that and the current buffalo situation. [more]

A report on last night's event "Fighting for the Buffalo" in Bozeman, featuring Mike Mease of Buffalo Field Campaign, as well as information on the first organizing meeting for Bozeman residents interested on action on the buffalo as well as other local issues of environmental, economic, and social justice. [more]

In a world of so many people, where the few represent the many, how do each of us find our voice? Is it in participating in big processes, or is it tied to our immediate experience? This essay argues for small community action tied directly to our immediate experience as the only means for making global changes. In Bozeman, for the author personally, it means being part of a grassroots group that takes on local issues of concern, starting with a March 26 event considering the slaughter of the buffalo in Yellowstone. [more]