News from the Field
June 24, 2004
In this Issue:
* Update from the Field
* Hinchey-Bass Buffalo Protection Amendment Fails by 202-215 Vote
* Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks Releases Plans for
Buffalo Hunt
* BFC Needs Donation of Reliable Car
* Last Words
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* Update from the Field
With summer officially underway and the buffalo safe in the interior of
Yellowstone National Park you'd think that the hard-working volunteers and
coordinators of the Buffalo Field Campaign would be enjoying some
well-deserved downtime. Unfortunately, you'd be wrong.
Instead we've been busy preparing our annual newsletter for production,
getting ready to launch our new web site (more info next week), and
responding to agency and legislative proposals affecting the Yellowstone
herd. We've been out everyday discussing the buffalo and their slaughter
with citizens who visit our information table in Yellowstone National
Park, and preparing for the upcoming East & West coast road shows.
Thankfully, we are not alone. While the Montana Department of Fish,
Wildlife, and Parks and the Department of Livestock think they can limit
public input on bison management by releasing proposals in the middle of
summer when families are on vacation, we know they are wrong. The buffalo
have an extremely dedicated and inspired group of supporters who will take
action when it is needed. To aid you in doing so, we have provided
talking points you can use to draft your own comments on FWP's proposed
buffalo hunt. Next week we will include information on the DOL's plans to
intrusively vaccinate wild buffalo with an ineffective and unnecessary
vaccine.
Things don't always go as planned and we were dealt back-to-back blows
last week when two of the vehicles we rely upon for transportation to and
from our table in the park broke down.
For those of you who can, please consider making a tax-deductible
contribution that will enable us to repair our cars quickly so we can
continue uninterrupted in our effort to meet with Park visitors and embark
on our annual road shows.
For more information on these and other ways you can help the Yellowstone
buffalo, please read on.
For the Buffalo,
BFC Media Team
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* Hinchey-Bass Buffalo Protection Amendment Fails by Narrow Vote
On June 17, 2004, U.S. Representatives Maurice
Hinchey (D) and Charles Bass (R) introduced a bipartisan amendment to the
2005 Department of Interior Appropriations Bill to "prohibit the use of
funds to kill bison, or assist in the killing of bison, in the Yellowstone
National Park herd." Despite the hard work of buffalo protection
advocates and hundreds of concerned citizens, the measure failed to pass
by an incredibly close 202-215 margin.
The National Park Service (NPS), whose insignia
features a buffalo, has slaughtered 498 buffalo in the past 16 months.
The Hinchey-Bass Amendment would have saved millions of tax dollars while
forcing the National Park Service to uphold its mandate "to protect the
resources unimpaired for present and future generations."
This was the second straight year that an amendment
to prohibit the park from slaughtering buffalo was offered.
Representative Nick Rahall (D) introduced a similar measure in 2003 that
failed by a 199-220 margin. The very close votes and the fact that this
year's effort garnered more support than last year's show that the buffalo
have a significant level of support in Congress and that momentum is
building for a Congressional solution to the unjust slaughter of the
Yellowstone buffalo.
See how your Representative voted by clicking on the
House web site: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2004/roll261.xml
If s/he voted for the Hinchey-Bass amendment, please
call and express your gratitude. If s/he voted against, call or write to
express your disappointment.
You
can contact your Representative by calling the Capitol Switchboard at
800-839-5276, and asking to be transferred to his/her office. Or, you can
use
http://www.house.gov/writerep to look up your Representative and
send them an email.
If you're interested in reading the entire 50-minute
debate on the House floor, email bfc-media@wildrockies.org and we will
send you a copy.
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* Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Releases Plans for Buffalo Hunt
Urge FWP to Choose the "No Action" Alternative.
In addition to hazing, capturing, testing and
slaughtering, America's last wild buffalo may soon become victim of a
"sport hunt." On June 7, the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and
Parks (FWP) released a draft environmental assessment (EA) featuring a
preferred alternative that would allow 25 permits (or more) to be issued
to "hunters" to shoot buffalo migrating from Yellowstone National Park
onto traditional habitat in Montana.
Buffalo are accustomed to millions of tourists and
are not afraid of people. They will not give "fair chase" like deer and
elk. Gun-bearers will be able to walk right up to a buffalo and blast it
with a high powered rifle right at the Park border. Shooting a buffalo is
about as sporting as shooting a parked car. The only time buffalo flee
from humans is when the Montana Department of Livestock (DOL) chases them
with snowmobiles, ATVs, helicopters, and horses. Now they want to shift
some of the blame to hunters.
The DOL, not FWP, will have authority over this
latest incarnation of the state-sanctioned slaughter. It's just one more
tool in the DOL's wild buffalo eradication toolbox. Hunters realize they
are being used as scapegoats, and are opposing this plan while actively
advocating for an amendment to the Inter Agency Bison Management Plan that
would allow buffalo to roam in Montana. Buffalo must be considered a
wildlife species managed by the FWP before any buffalo hunt is
considered.
This hunt is of national significance, yet FWP is
giving the public very little time to respond to the proposal, and is
quickly moving toward a plan that could go into effect as early as
November. A mere 30-day comment period and two public meetings in Montana
are inadequate, unacceptable, and a slap-in-the-face to the public
process.
TAKE ACTION! Please send your comments to FWP by
July 9th. Strongly urge them to choose the "No Action" alternative, and
use the suggested talking points below, along with your own personal
viewpoints, to demonstrate why this is a bad idea that should be scrapped
immediately. If you live in Montana, please ask that the FWP conduct a
public hearing in your town or region. You can find more in-depth
information about the hunt at
http://www.wildrockies.org/Buffalo/huntcomments.html
Send your comments by July 9th to:
Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks
Attn: Bison Hunt Comments
1400 S. 19th Ave
Bozeman, MT 59718
Attn: Bison Hunt Comments
1400 S. 19th Ave
Bozeman, MT 59718
Email:
bisonhuntcomment@montana.edu
Suggested Talking Points (Please Personalize!)
- Fish, Wildlife, and Parks must choose the "No
Action" alternative.
- The opportunity for public participation has been
inadequate. Extend the July 9th comment deadline and hold additional
public hearings throughout the State.
- An environmental impact statement (EIS) is
required under both Montana and federal law if the action proposed will
have "a significant impact on the human environment".
- The Inter Agency Bison Management Plan is a "no
hunt" plan, meaning, no hunting! The IBMP must be amended to allow
buffalo to roam freely within Montana before any hunt can be considered.
- Before a hunt is considered, wild buffalo must be
given the respect of being considered a recovered resident native wildlife
species in Montana, where they are currently "managed" aggressively by the
Department of Livestock as a "nuisance animal in need of disease control."
- Tribal consultation should be sought and treaty
rights upheld before any hunt is considered.
- Shooting buffalo is like shooting a parked car.
They do not give "fair chase" like deer or elk. Don't forget the last
time Montana thought it was a good idea to "hunt" Yellowstone buffalo, the
public outcry caused a huge black eye for Montana.
- The plan does not consider the real possibility of
a future for wild Montana buffalo in which they are not killed in the
gateway communities.
- FWP claims that hunters will be doing a service to
the local communities by removing "problem" buffalo that are causing
damage to private property and threatening human safety. Almost no
property damage is caused by buffalo migrating into Montana with the
exception of damage caused when DOL agents haze buffalo through people's
fences on private property.
- The preferred alternative sets the dangerous
precedent of putting the Department of Livestock in charge of the hunting
of a Montana big game species.
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* Buffalo Field Campaign Needs Donation of Reliable Car
Last week we learned we'd need a new engine for the GMC Suburban donated
to us by Jackson Browne and a new transmission for "Buffy," the Subaru
that is adorned with beautiful paintings of wild buffalo. We are blessed
by the fact that Chris, our office coordinator, is also a mechanic of the
finest caliber, allowing us to save hundreds of dollars in labor costs.
Unfortunately, we are way over budget on vehicle repairs, and we need your
help in order to buy the needed parts to get the vehicles up and running.
If you are able to make a contribution or donate a four-wheel-drive
vehicle, please contact us immediately. We need vehicles to travel to and
from our information booth in the park and to embark on our annual road
shows, when we share our experiences with the buffalo with audiences from
coast to coast.
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* Last Words
"This [buffalo hunt] proposal undermines the North
American Model of allowing public hunting as a sustainable, fair-chase
conservation practice of wild free roaming wildlife. The IBMP unfairly
limits the time, numbers and space afforded wild bison in Montana. ...
Using hunting and hunters as one of the "tools" to eradicate wild bison
from Montana by April or May 15th each year is not consistent with sound
wildlife conservation principles. Š I suggest FWP pursue a wild bison
habitat recovery and conservation EIS for the State of Montana rather than
a DOL-led bison eradication plan on the borders of Yellowstone National
Park that is ultimately built on a foundation of intolerance for wild
bison in Montana. "
~ Glenn Hocket, hunter, President of the Gallatin
Wildlife Association. Montana Director of Western Watersheds Project.
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Buffalo Field Campaign
PO Box 957
West Yellowstone, MT 59758
(406) 646-0070
buffalo@wildrockies.org
http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo