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Update from the Field
There's a beautiful bull buffalo in the Beartrap housing
area and another near a neighborhood on Horse Butte.
These bulls are bothering no one, yet the Department
of Livestock (DOL) insists upon wasting thousands of
tax dollars a day to rob Montana of their presence.
I spent Wednesday afternoon on patrol, keeping one eye
on the two bulls and the other on the six livestock
agents who showed up in town Tuesday afternoon to harass
them. They began the day by driving out to Horse Butte
where they proceeded to plow Forest Road 610, the road
that accesses the National Forest land where the DOL
sets up its capture facility every year. After plowing
the road and the trap site they proceeded to their headquarters
on Duck Creek, where they spent several hours loading
and unloading equipment before saddling up on their
snowmobiles and tearing into the woods to look for buffalo.
We kept an eye on the agents with the help of some local
residents who called our office to report seeing them.
Fortunately the Horse Butte buffalo had disappeared
before the agents reached the area where he'd spent
the morning. The livestock agents spent several hours
scouring the area before returning to headquarters for
the night.
Thursday morning we suspected the agents would be out
harassing the buffalo. What we weren't sure of was whether
they'd try to capture the Beartrap and Horse Butte bulls
or chase them back to the park. As of this writing,
at 11am Thursday, they hazed the bull from the Beartrap
housing development. The bull at Horse Butte, perhaps
suspecting that the DOL would be after him, has kept
himself hidden. With any luck the DOL will pack their
things up this afternoon and head back to the state
capital, leaving the area in peace after three days
of wasting tax dollars and disturbing native wildlife.
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* Montanans Protest Decision to "Hunt"
Buffalo
In addition to being hazed, captured, tested, and slaughtered,
America's last wild buffalo may soon become victim of
a "sport hunt." At 9:00 a.m. on Thursday,
December 16, buffalo advocates gathered in Helena to
protest the so-called buffalo hunt proposed by Montana
Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP). The FWP Commission is
meeting today to make a final decision on their plan
to hunt buffalo that migrate outside of Yellowstone
National Park. Should the plan be approved, hunting
regulations will then be set. Anywhere from 5 to 25
permits will be issued to shoot buffalo that migrate
out of the park in search of winter food. Buffalo advocates
are in Helena to protest the hunt as proposed, and educate
people as to why it should not be approved. If this
plan is approved, starting January 15, 2005, buffalo
that leave Yellowstone National Park will be shot in
the field in the only area they are currently tolerated
within the borders of Montana, the Eagle Creek Special
Management Area of the Gallatin National Forest adjacent
to Yellowstone National Park's northern boundary.
Read BFC's press advisory for details http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/media/press0405/pressrelease0405/121504.html
Montana needs to hear from you, so they know you are
strongly opposed to the proposed hunt. Please visit
our Letters to the Editor web page http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/lte.html#montana
and write a strong letter to the key Montana papers
listed. Your letter should elaborate on the following
points: 1. No habitat, no hunt; 2. Buffalo must be considered
a wildlife species in Montana; 3. Tribal consultation
should be sought and treaty rights upheld; 4. There
is no element of fair chase in shooting buffalo that
are used to thousands of park visitors. When your letter
is printed, please send us a copy. Email to bfc-media@wildrockies.org,
or mail a copy to the address below.
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* Prayer Ceremony for the Buffalo
On Saturday, December 18 at 2pm, Scott and Marsha Frazier
of Ehnamani will travel to West Yellowstone to lead
a prayer for the buffalo and ask for strength in the
coming season. Please join us, in person or in thought,
to ask that the human beings learn to share the land
with the buffalo and welcome them to their native habitat.
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* Last Words:
Gatha for all Threatened Beings
Ah Power that swirls us together
Grant us Bliss
Grant us the great release
And to all Beings
Vanishing, wounded
In trouble on earth
We pass on this love
May their numbers increase.
--Gary Snyder
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