March 26, 2001
The week of action has come off wonderfully, over 50 people came to the field camp to help out. New volunteers learned in the field and in the
workshops that were held. 11 volunteers have been arrested since March 14th and we are thankful that they are all now free. Thursday morning 4 of the bulls that were captured were released at Duck creek and promptly walked about 2 miles back up the creek, into the park. 3
others were sent to slaughter.

Thanks to all for the concern shown for our intrepid tripod sitter on
Thursday. He was uninjured in the event and medication to control the
bruising in his wrists has been effective. Some wonder why a hemophiliac would put himself in such a position. His love for the bison and the wildlands that they need is the answer. Modern medicine does have its benefits, and this volunteer leads a more active life than most. His blockade of the 610 road kept 3 bison out of the capture facility, and safe for now.

Friday afternoon over 30 people, adorned in costumes, rallied at the Forest Service office in West Yellowstone. Bald eagles, trumpeter swans, ducks, wolves, and bison brought their complaints to the Forest Service officials who are charged with their protection. While the wildlife were denied entrance to the office, 2 people held a short discussion about the bison situation with district ranger Stan Benes.  Stan listened to their concerns, but claimed that he had no power to end the slaughter or the disruption of this critical wildlife habitat…..

I'll leave you with the words of Indigo, a 65 year old volunteer from
Pennsylvania: "One day on patrol, one large bull, out of many I had seen that day, stood and looked straight at me. He was about sixty feet away and he looked right through me. I was humbled and honored, as the tears ran down my face, that a buffalo said to me in a silent language with his eyes, 'We are One.' Spoken language has no words for that sacred experience."
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You can still voice your concerns for the buffalo - Please join us in
our "Protect the Buffalo" email campaign and pass this on to 7 friends
in honor of the seven buffalo who have sacrificed themselves this
winter

Please join us in letting the new Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton and Secretary of Agriculture, Anne Venneman know that folks are concerned about the plight of the last free roaming buffalo herd.

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.

Contributions to BFC are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law
and support our aggressive, front line volunteer campaign. We put
the wild buffalo first! BFC is the only group working 365 days a
year in Yellowstone with the buffalo.