*
Update from the Field
Dear Buffalo Friends,
Spring has snuck up on us, arriving nearly a month ahead
of her usual time. Throughout the Yellowstone
region temperatures are rising, melting the snow and
soaking the earth. Warm sunshine, little green
shoots and a chorus of bird song make evident the changing
of the season.
In West Yellowstone, there are still no buffalo outside
of the Park. The few far-away bulls we were monitoring
are out of sight now, with portions of the Park closed
to all human activities to protect waking grizzly bears.
Anxious for the buffalo's company, we await the annual
spring migration of mamas heavy with calf, accompanied
by yearlings, young bulls and cows, who will head to
cattle-free Horse Butte to calve and enjoy the nutritious
grasses this massive mound of south-facing earth has
to offer. Mothers, grandmothers, brothers, sisters,
aunts and young uncles will welcome new members to the
herd in the next couple of months.
The northern boundary, near Gardiner, has calmed down
a bit. On the west side of the Yellowstone River,
the Park's day-after-day hazing of wild buffalo has
ceased for the time being because the buffalo have decided
to remain deeper within Park boundaries. Park
wranglers on foot hazed two old mama buffalo for about
three miles. One mama has been dubbed "Little
Miss One-Horn" as she's missing her right horn.
She's a pleasure to observe and has a special way of
holding her head up just so, sniffing the air, sniffing
her relatives, and slowly chewing the grasses she finds.
She and her elder companion struck off from their group
and have been content to go it alone in the past week.
We are hopeful that the early spring is enabling the
buffalo to find new grasses that will sustain them for
now, and protect them from government harassment.
Along the eastern side of the Yellowstone River, up
near Eagle Creek, the Nez Perce resumed hunting once
again. Five buffalo were taken from a large mixed
group: three young bulls, a cow, and her calf.
We have been told that the hunt is really over now.
Later, the Department of Livestock (DOL) hazed this
same mixed group of wild buffalo, for daring to approach
a Forest Service public lands grazing allotment.
DOL agent Tyler Bond hazed approximately 48 wild buffalo
to protect the grazing "rights" for Bill Hoppe's
small handful of cows who are eating our public lands
and displacing native wildlife.
On Tuesday, a group of BFC folks headed to Helena to
attend a Board of Livestock meeting at DOL headquarters.
It was intense if not nerve-wracking to be in a room
full of cattle producers who want to keep Montana empty
of buffalo. Governor Schweitzer has recently appointed
four members to the board, and we may have been witness
that day to some early signs of change. While
we heard a lot of off-the-wall and seriously misinformed
comments, as well as a few empty threats, the interesting
and unexpected thing was, we found that there is some
willingness to open dialogue. Buffalo advocates
know we can maintain Montana's prized brucellosis-free
status while allowing wild buffalo to recover their
native range, but the cattle industry has never budged
nor considered the integrity of America's last wild
bison or any other species. The industry has never
been willing to admit that cattle are the source of
brucellosis, nor have they been willing to give an inch
to the buffalo, always making the native roamers carry
the burden.
Our disagreements run deep, but it appears that the
general consensus is that we have to do something different
and that requires communication; the status quo is not
sustainable, especially not for the last wild buffalo.
Misinformation and politics have dominated the issue,
while the industry has called the shots and refused
any other point of view. Typically, the cattle
industry has been inflexible to the needs of wild buffalo
and many other native wildlife species, but maybe the
new board members will ease the pressure a bit.
There was potential in that room that day. It's
going to take some give on the cattle industry's part,
including a change of attitude towards native creatures,
but if maintaining Montana's brucellosis-free status
(and not grass) is really and truly the issue, solutions
are right there for the taking. For a list of
BFC's "Solutions to the Slaughter" please
visit http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/solutions05.html.
Now we set our sites on Washington, DC, where this coming
Tuesday, Josh and Darrell will represent the wild buffalo
before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National
Parks, Forests and Public Lands. The Government
Accountability Office investigation of wild buffalo
mismanagement continues, and the people of wild buffalo
country will gather in Livingston on Sunday to help
awaken the human spirit to the necessary and beneficial
movement of North America's largest land mammal, the
mighty bison.
Roam Free,
~Stephany
------------------------------
* BFC to Testify Before House Parks Subcommittee
On Tuesday, March 20, BFC's Josh Osher and Darrell Geist
will present testimony to the House Subcommittee for
National Parks, Forests and Public Lands at the Oversight
Hearing on Yellowstone National Park Bison. Also
invited to testify are representatives from the National
Park Service, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, the
Humane Society of the United States, Montana Stockgrowers
Association, Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service,
National Parks Conservation Association, and Utah State
University. An eclectic crew, to say the least.
We will make BFC's testimony available to you as soon
as possible. Information about the hearing, including
a link for viewing the hearing live on the Committee's
site can be found here: http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/hearings/hearingdetail.aspx?NewsID=36
If you live in the home district of one of the Committee
members please contact her/him on behalf of the last
wild buffalo! Contact information for each member
of the House subcommittee is listed below or here:
www.visi.com/juan/congress/cgi-bin/newcommittee.cgi?site=ctc&lang=&commcode=hresources_parks
*Majority Membership:
Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) [Chairman], 202-225-2435, http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Dale E. Kildee (D-MI), 202-225-3611, http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), 202-225-2726, neil.abercrombie@mail.house.gov
Donna M. Christensen (D-VI), 202-225-1790, http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Rush Holt (D-NJ), 202-225-5801, http://holt.house.gov/contact.shtml
Dan Boren (D-OK), 202-225-2701, http://www.house.gov/boren/emailsignup.shtml
John P. Sarbanes (D-MD), 202-225-4016, http://sarbanes.house.gov/IMA/issue_subscribe.shtml
Peter A. DeFazio (D-OR), 202-225-6416, N/A
Maurice D. Hinchey (D-NY), 202-225-6335, http://www.house.gov/hinchey/contact/zipauth.shtml
Ron Kind (D-WI), 202-225-5506, http://www.house.gov/kind/contact.shtml
Lois Capps (D-CA), 202-225-3601, http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Jay Inslee (D-WA), 202-225-6311, http://www.house.gov/inslee/contact/email.html
Mark Udall (D-CO), 202-225-2161, http://markudall.house.gov/HoR/CO02/Contact+Mark/Contact+Mark.htm
Stephanie Herseth (D-SD), 202-225-2801, stephanie.herseth@mail.house.gov
Heath Shuler (D-NC), 202-225-6401, http://www.house.gov/writerep/
*Minority Membership:
Rob Bishop (R-UT) [Ranking Member], 202-225-0453, http://www.house.gov/robbishop/contact/
John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-TN), 202-225-5435, http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Christopher Cannon (R-UT), 202-225-7751, http://chriscannon.house.gov/email.htm
Tom Tancredo (R-CO), 202-225-7882, http://tancredo.house.gov/contact/contact_contacttom.shtml
Jeff Flake (R-AZ), 202-225-2635, http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Rick Renzi (R-AZ), 202-225-2315, http://www.house.gov/renzi/email.shtml
Steve Pearce (R-NM), 202-225-2365, http://www.house.gov/formpearce/emailtemplate.htm
Henry E. Brown, Jr. (R-SC), 202-225-3176, http://brown.house.gov/writebrown/
Louie Gohmert (R-TX), 202-225-3035, http://gohmert.house.gov/contact_louie.htm
Tom Cole (R-OK), 202-225-6165, http://www.house.gov/cole/contact.htm
Dean Heller (R-NV), 202-225-6155, http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Bill Sali (R-ID), 202-225-6611, http://sali.house.gov/contactform/
Doug Lamborn (R-CO), 202-225-4422, http://www.house.gov/writerep/
------------------------------
* Earth in Motion: What the Buffalo are
Teaching Us ~ by Monica RavenHeart
A great phenomenon is happening in our little part of
the world: the animals are assuming the role of teacher.
It is no longer possible for them to wait for humans
to get it right. In their annual exodus from the
confines of Yellowstone Park, the last genetically wild
bison are teaching us that movement is a sustainable,
and inevitable, means to the revitalization of the earth...
more at http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/aboutus/artthoughts/ravenheart2.html
------------------------------
* March 18: Drumming a Sacred Circle for
Life!
Wild buffalo locked inside Yellowstone is like a severely
clogged artery; extremely unhealthy. We can help
stimulate the flow of life by tuning in to hoof-beat
and heartbeat, opening the doors that allow us to expect
and accept the natural and beneficial migration of wild
buffalo.
Please join us at the Livingston Depot, Livingston,
Montana this Sunday, March 18th for the third "Drumming
a Sacred Circle for Life." We will gather
from 1:00-5:00pm with open minds, open hearts and lots
of drums! There will be inspiring speakers, an
incredible film on animal migration, information on
the migrating animals in our region, exquisite raffle
items and intense drumming. We will help open
the human conscience to what the buffalo are teaching
us about migration, and how the health of our Mother
Earth requires movement. We will drum for hoof-beat
and heartbeat. There is a $5 min. donation for
those 19 and over; a $2 donation for those ages 12-18;
11 and under enter free. For more information
please call Monica at 406-333-4098 or Stephany at 406-646-0070.
If you can't make it, please consider organizing a drumming
circle in your own community - wherever you are - and
join us in spirit, and drum for the wild and free migrations
of our friends the buffalo!
------------------------------
* Last Words
Who
took the dream
of the land
who staked down "private property"
through the soul of the deer
who
diverted streams
cleared forests
burned fields
i
seek to know
my own name
i
seek to know
why
after all that i have done
to hurt her
does the Mother continue
to embrace me
~Charlie Mehrhoff
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