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* Week of Action News from the Field
* How you can be a part of the Week Action via Online
* Press release regarding buffalo captured today - awaiting slaughter & arrests

At the time of this posting - the "authorities" have removed a platform from beneath an activist who is now hanging suspended above the ground (supporting his body weight) from his wrists in metal cuffs. He is a hemophiliac. They have stood around and watched his suffering for 20+ minutes and have not yet called for an ambulance. We are sending you this info from earlier today so that the world will know what is happening.  Seven bull buffalo await their fate in the capture facility.
Send a prayer and we'll keep you updated...

Other Week of Actions happenings:
Friday - 3/24/01 - Rally for All Species at the West Yellowstone
Sunday - Prayer Ceremony - West Yellowstone - call 406.646.0070 for details

From the Field
The week of action is in full swing, and we have had an influx of volunteers from Seattle and Olympia, Washington, Reno, Nevada, and Missoula, Montana. Other volunteers have arrived from Jackson, Wyoming, Boise and Driggs, Idaho. All the bunks in the cabin are full, and some folks are sleeping out in tents. The timing couldn't have been better, as the Department of Livestock (DOL) is up to its old tricks again.

Yesterday - on Wednesday afternoon, DOL attempted to capture three  bulls that have been grazing in the Horse Butte area since December.  The three wily bulls easily eluded the DOL, but two volunteers were arrested for allegedly violating a closed area. Law enforcement officers have taken to closing large areas of National Forest land to "protect the safety of the officers involved in a government operation." While rejoicing that our shaggy friends are still free, and hoping that our jailed ones will be soon, we began to plan for another day.

This morning when DOL attempted to drive out to the Horse Butte capture facility for another try at the bulls, they found a tripod blocking the road. One individual is occupying a platform below its apex. Other patrols are stationed with bison on Horse Butte, along the Madison River, and at Cougar Creek.

At 8 AM a DOL helicopter began hazing four bulls from the Bear Trap Subdivision and despite our efforts, captured them in the Duck Creek facility at 9:30. Three other bulls on Cougar creek were captured later this morning. About 15 law enforcement vehicles are assisting in the operation. They have again violated their Special Use Permit with the illegal use of helicopters.

It's impossible to tell what the rest of the day will bring, but we are thankful for all the people here, and the support we receive from all of you, in defending the last wild North American buffalo.
Please, take a moment and join our virtual week of action below!  Thanks!

P.S. And for those of you asking if Mease is still around - yes, he is! Full time in the field and getting some new video producing skills, also. For your viewing pleasure - (actually, it might turn your stomach) - there is a new clip of the horrendous hazing last Wednesday that led two buffalo to slaughter. Please stop by our website and check it.http://www.wildrockies.org/Buffalo/politico00/031401vid.html
To those who support from afar - Thank you for your support and prayers. Any donations that you could help out with at this time - could be put to very good use. We still need to cover May rent.

Buffalo Field Campaign (formerly Buffalo Nations)
PO Box 957 West Yellowstone, MT 59758
406-646-0070 phone 406-646-0071 fax
buffalo@wildrockies.org www.wildrockies.org/buffalo

Week of Action and beyond online....
Please join us in letting the new Secretary of the Interior, Anne Venneman and Secretary of Agriculture Gale Norton know that folks are concerned about the plight of the last free roaming buffalo herd.  Email them as citizens of this great nation to implore them, in behalf of one of our national treasures, to protect the Yellowstone buffalo.

Over 90,000 folks signed and delivered a citizen's petition to their predecessors. It demanded that buffalo be given precedence over cattle on public (Forest Service) lands designated as "wildlife habitat" in Yellowstone. We delivered copies of the petition to
President Clinton, Interior Secretary Babbitt, and Forest Service Chief Dombeck but they, unfortunately, did not take action. Join us in requesting that they, as public officials, represent the concerns of the public and look into this matter.

Please go to    http://www.wildrockies.org/Buffalo/politico00/sendmail.html
and join us in speaking out for the buffalo! Together we can raise our voices and be heard.

7 BISON CAPTURED, TRIPOD BLOCKS HORSE BUTTE  March 22, 2001

West Yellowstone, MT - This morning a Department of Livestock helicopter hazed four bulls from Grayling Creek and captured them in  the Duck Creek facility at 9:00 AM. Three other bulls on Cougar creek were hazed by the helicopter and captured at 10:00 AM. One BFC volunteer was arrested in the Cougar creek area.

According to BFC spokesperson Peter Leusch, "Early spring is the deadliest time of year for wildlife. By flying low over these creeks, DOL threatens the lives of elk, moose, deer and other wildlife. The bison were in an area where cattle are never present, and posed absolutely no threat to Montana's livestock industry."

A tripod was built early this morning on Forest Service road 610, blocking access to the Horse Butte bison capture facility. One individual occupied a platform below the tripod's apex. The action was taken to prevent the capture of several bull bison that have been grazing in the Horse Butte area all winter.

BFC, Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers, and The Ecology Center Inc. have filed a Notice of Intent to Sue in Federal District Court to halt the use of the Horse Butte Capture Facility. BFC volunteer Megan Fishback stated, "We feel that this facility has been put in illegally and that it has harsh effects not only on buffalo but on bald eagles, an threatened species."

DOL claims that wild bison could transmit brucellosis to cattle and pose a threat to Montana's cattle industry. Yet the closest cattle are over 50 miles away. Grazing by livestock in the area doesn't start until June 15. In addition, there has never been a documented case of transmission from bison to cattle in a natural setting.

Peter Leusch said, "Montana continues to capture and kill these animals because they have no tolerance for bison in the state. The real reason for the slaughter is rooted in a bureaucratic power struggle for control of public lands. The only losers are wildlife,
the American public, and the local economy."

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 document and stop the slaughter of Yellowstone's wild buffalo.

Buffalo Field Campaign  March 21, 2001
Bison Elude Capture; Two Arrested   
West Yellowstone, MT: The Montana Department of Livestock unsuccessfully attempted to capture three bison bulls on Horse Butte at 1:00 PM for testing and potential execution. Forest Service and Gallatin County Law Enforcement officers closed areas of the National Forest arbitrarily, restricting documentation of the operation, as well as public access. Two Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) volunteers were arrested for allegedly crossing into the closed area, charged with obstruction of a peace officer, and transported to Gallatin County Detention Center in Bozeman. One was a journalist who was protected under the Montana Media Confidentiality Shield Law.

The three bison have been grazing in the Horse Butte area since early December. DOL claims that wild bison could transmit brucellosis to cattle and pose a threat to Montana's cattle industry. Yet the closest cattle are over 50 miles away. Grazing by livestock in the area doesn't start until June 15. In addition, there has never been a documented case of transmission from bison to cattle in a natural setting.

" Bison have the same right as other wildlife to use public lands outside of Yellowstone," Mike Mease, Field Coordinator for BFC asserted. "Thousands of elk, which also carry brucellosis, leave the park every winter unmolested. But DOL knows that if they mess with elk, they'll have the entire hunting lobby on their backs."

According to BFC spokesperson Peter Leusch, "The fact that DOL only concentrate on bison shows that the brucellosis issue is a lie. The truth is the DOL really wants to control wildlife in our National Parks in the service of the livestock industry. They think our remaining wild country is an oversized petting zoo."

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) considers bison bulls, calves and non-pregnant females "low-risk" animals, since their is virtually no chance of cattle receiving brucellosis from them.

Peter Leusch stated, "In Grand Teton National Park, vaccinated cattle have co-mingled with bison (more specific name for Americanbuffalo) for forty years. No cattle have received brucellosis from these bison. West Yellowstone area cattle have also been vaccinated, yet bison are not allowed to graze on their natural winter feeding grounds. Where's the logic in that?"