previous buffalo news             subsequent buffalo news             home

Buffalo Field Campaign    P.O. Box 957     West Yellowstone, Mt. 59758
Phone (406) 646-0070 Fax (406) 646-0071
E-mail mailto:Buffalo@wildrockies.org.

March 15, 2001
After a month of peace and quiet, the DOL, Forest Service, and Park Service have returned to wreak havoc in the Yellowstone ecosystem. In a completely needless operation, the DOL helicopter and snowmobiles captured seven bull bison in the Horse Butte trap on Wednesday (see press release for more details). BFC volunteers were able to detour eight other bulls during the operation, keeping them free of the trap.  In response to their actions, seven of these heros are currently in the human capture facility (jail) in Mammoth, Wyoming, and awaiting arraignment in Federal court. We were also able to film incredible video footage of the havoc, including the displacement of over 300 trumpeter swans, and are sending it out to many different outlets.  This morning, DOL released five of the bulls after they tested negative for brucellosis. Several of the bulls were noticeably injured and all were traumatized by the incident. Unfortunately, two magnificent bulls have been sent to slaughter. These are the first bison to be killed in Montana in two years.
While we mourn their loss, and the incredibly high ecological and
monetary costs of this operation, we are thankful that so many were
able to escape the slaughter house.
For the Buffalo,  Pete Leusch

Speak out -
The Forest Service has the authority to put an end to this madness and protect Yellowstone's wildlife.  Contact:

Mike Dombeck, Chief, Forest Service,
Auditor's Bldg 201 14th Street, S.W. at Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, DC 20024
phone: 202-205-1661.
The correct email address for Mike Dombeck is
mailto:mdombeck@fs.fed.us

Contact Montana's new Governor and let her know that you are appalled-The Governor can be reached by calling (406) 444-3111; or by writing the State Capitol, Helena, MT, 59620-0801.
She will receive email via the form at
http://www.discoveringmontana.com/gov/contact.htm
or care of mailto:aburton@state.mt.us
__________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 14, 2001
By two thirty this afternoon seven wild and free-roaming bison were captured by the Montana Department of Livestock (DOL) and cooperating agencies, while several others were still being chased in an effort to capture them as well. Using a helicopter and snowmobiles, DOL agents chased bison several miles to the bison capture facility at Horse Butte, capturing the two bison and losing many others en route to the bison trap. Four activists were arrested when they allegedly turned eight bison around, saving them from capture and potential slaughter. Four more volunteers with the Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) were arrested later with unknown charges.

"The DOL resorted to means of hazing bison that are extremely disturbing to all species in the area. They are wasting taxpayer money and harassing wildlife by hazing bison out of an area where there are never cattle, while insisting that they are protecting cattle from bison and brucellosis," stated BFC spokesperson Summer Nelson.

One day prior to DOL activities two moose, a cow and calf, were feeding one hundred feet away on the same tributary as several bull bison on the Madison River. On the same day more than 20 bald eagles were observed foraging and in mating flights over the same area of the river. Since January of 2001 BFC volunteers have sighted well over 100 threatened bald eagles along the Madison River west of highway 191 and along the Horse Butte Peninsula.

Further wildlife disturbance was visible during today's helicopter hazing. BFC spokesperson Mike Mease stated that "We stood there and witnessed at least ten Forest Service law enforcement officers watch a minimum of 150 trumpeter swans get flushed off of the open water where they were resting. They flew away from the helicopter more than three miles northwest over Horse Butte. When we asked the officials if they were going to do something about it, none of them responded." Trumpeter swans are considered a sensitive species under the endangered species act and are monitored closely by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Montana claims that such measures are necessary to protect cattle from receiving brucellosis from bison and plans to spend over 40 million dollars at taxpayer expense in the next 15 years to manage wild bison. While Montana insists that bison are a threat to cattle and the state's brucellosis-free status, both species as well as elk carrying brucellosis, have co-mingled for over 40 years in Jackson, WY without a case of brucellosis transmission between the species. There has never been a documented case of transmission from bison to cattle in a natural setting.

The summer grazing on Horse Butte amounts to 172 cow/calf pairs. This grazing allotment brings in less than $800 to the U.S. Treasury. The USDA does not have the legal authority to revoke Montana's status based solely on the presence of potentially exposed wildlife in the state. Thus, Montana's fears and actions are unjustified and unsupported by science.

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.
                  Video and still photos available upon request.
-                                                 
previous buffalo news              subsequent buffalo news                home