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Yellowstone, MT- Two Buffalo Field Campaign
(BFC) volunteers have been held in jail since last Thursday,
when they were arrested for attempting to block access
to a state of Montana bison capture facility site on
the Horse Butte Peninsula, in the Gallatin National
Forest. Dennis Coulter was removed from a tripod on
a Forest Service road and Brian Gharst was taken from
his perch in a tree where he was videotaping the incident.
The
two were involved in a non-violent protest on public
lands, in defense of their moral beliefs. Their actions
were not threatening and yet they are being held in
jail with $200 and $300 bond, instead of being released
on their own recognizance. The two activists, who have
not eaten since being detained, are not taking food
as a protest to the buffalo slaughter. Generally people
are held if they are a threat to the public, or are
considered a flight risk, and expected not to return
for trial.In this case, the protesters acted on moral
grounds, and their purpose was to bring attention to
a national issue. Both arrestees plan to return to trial,
in order to gain more attention for the Yellowstone
bison.
Applications for public defenders were filled out last
Friday, but had not been delivered from the detention
center to the court by Monday afternoon. Summer Nelson,
a spokesperson for BFC stated that, "Coulter and Gharst
have shown no reason to run and they are not a threat
to anyone.
We
believe that they should not have to pay to be released,
and that they should be given legal representation without
delay. Detention center officers have said the jail
is overcrowded, so it would make sense to let non-violent
protesters out."
Over
90,000 signatures were gathered in recent months to
petition the government to allow bison on lands at Horse
Butte and relocate the cattle grazing allotments that
currently are in conflict with wildlife interests on
National Forest lands. "By defending this area, these
two men were speaking for thousands of citizens who
believe that bison belong on public lands," Nelson said.
Buffalo
Field Campaign volunteers defend the buffalo on their
traditional winter habitat and advocate for their protection.
BFC is the only group working in the field every day
to stop the slaughter of Yellowstone's wild buffalo.
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