Testimony on SB 174

Dear Chairman Ted Washburn and members of the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee,

On behalf of Buffalo Field Campaign I am submitting testimony on SB 174. I would also request that my testimony be entered into the hearing record and transcript. Thank you.

Buffalo Field Campaign is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) whose mission is to stop the slaughter of Yellowstone's wild buffalo herd, protect the natural habitat of wild free-roaming buffalo and native wildlife, and to work with people of all Nations to honor the sacredness of wild buffalo.

Our members, who come from all walks of life and from places all around the world, envision a life for buffalo in which they thrive within a state of inherent wildness. We also envision a world in which buffalo and all other native wildlife are given precedence on public land, and where buffalo herds remain as a self-regulating sustainable population, and a viable genetic source for the future evolutionary potential of the wildlife species.

I am also a resident of West Yellowstone and live year-round in the Hebgen basin where America's last wild buffalo roam.

SB 174 would prohibit spending Montana tax dollars "to relocate or transplant wild buffalo or bison" on the Spotted Dog Wildlife Management Area, near Avon, west of Helena.

According to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks: "The primary goal of Montana's Wildlife Management Areas is to maintain vital wildlife habitat for the protection of species and the enjoyment of the public."

To the exclusion and detriment of native wildlife species, all too often cattle are grazed on these habitats purchased by all Montanans for their wildlife habitat values.

The Spotted Dog Wildlife Management Area is one of several habitats under consideration by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks in a process that has just begun and is not even published yet for public and Tribal review.

Presently, there is no Bison Management Plan in place in Montana. The reason a plan is being developed is because wild buffalo are ecologically extinct throughout Montana.

Wild buffalo inhabiting the state of Montana is a public trust responsibility. The trustees or caretakers have a duty to future generations to ensure that the wildlife trust is protected in perpetuity.

Montana cannot abrogate its' public trust responsibility to the wild American buffalo. If legislators fail to protect wild buffalo, citizens will work to ensure our duty and trust to this valued indigenous wildlife species is met and upheld.

As Montanans we have an obligation to conserve, protect and restore wild American bison and prevent ecological extinction of a valued indigenous wildlife species.

While Buffalo Field Campaign is adamantly opposed to quarantining wild buffalo, SB 174 seeks to preempt a public planning process by setting precedent on excluding buffalo from Wildlife Management Areas in Montana.

Buffalo Field Campaign supports natural restoration of wild buffalo in Montana through protection of vital wildlife corridors and critical habitats in the Yellowstone ecosystem first.

Wildlife corridors in the Madison, Yellowstone and Gallatin river valleys, among them, lead to habitats for wild buffalo including Montana Wildlife Management Areas, public lands on our National Forests and Wildlife Refuges, Bureau of Land Management, and Tribal lands.

Buffalo Field Campaign encourages committee members to amend SB 174 to put the state of Montana on course to naturally restore buffalo in Yellowstone by protecting wildlife corridors and critical habitats necessary for wild populations to emerge. Without such an amendment, Buffalo Field Campaign encourages committee members to defeat SB 174.

Please oppose the legislative precedent of specifically excluding wild indigenous species from Wildlife Management Areas in Montana.

The prevalence of fenced, domesticated buffalo as livestock is widespread in North America; only one population of migratory wild buffalo remains in Montana.

Buffalo descended from the Yellowstone population are a gift to Montana, our Nation, and our natural heritage. We have a duty to future generations to commit ourselves to the conservation, preservation and restoration of the wild American buffalo in Montana today.

Wild buffalo have been missing from Montana's landscape for well over 100 years. It's time for Montanans to make a generational commitment to conserve, protect and restore wild buffalo in their native habitats for the next 100 years to come.

Darrell Geist, Habitat Coordinator
Buffalo Field Campaign
PO Box 957
West Yellowstone MT 59758
phone: (406) 646-0070
fax: (406) 646-0071
email: z@wildrockies.org
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/habitat.html