Copyright © 2000 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

Friends of the Buffalo,

Facing our most hectic week of the year, we've faced four of our friends being jailed in the past two days in our work to protect the Yellowstone buffalo herd and make their plight known to the world. Even as I write, the radio buzzes with transmissions from the field. The DOL is out in full force, hazing more than 30 buffalo along Highway 191. It looks as though they're trying to chase them to the capture facility at Duck Creek. Because we're so busy, and we need to get this out to you today, this week's update will take the form of recent press releases, including today's.

Tuesday's rally in Big Sky (see press release & web page), in which a 20x50 foot banner was hung from a ten story building, was funded entirely by the activists who organized it. If you would like to help, please send a donation care of the Buffalo Field Campaign and say you want it to go toward reimbursement for the Big Sky action, it would be appreciated.

Thanks for you continued support. It really does keep us going. And remember - if any of you can make it out to work with us before May 15th - you'll have a warm bed and good meals and some quality time with some buffalo!

For the Buffalo,

Dan Brister

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A Mother's Day and Women's Rally is being planned for Thursday May 11 at 2:00 PM in front of the DOL building in Helena. This is to honor the spirit of our sister buffalo and to bring attention to the tragedies and difficulties they face each spring when it is time for their calves to arrive. Anyone who would like to participate is welcome. Please feel free to contact me with any ideas you have for activities that could take place during this rally. I would like to see it be peaceful and respectful. I plan to offer up a prayer for the buffalo. Children are more than welcome. For the Buffalo.... Contact Flo for more information. E-mail: fgardipee@hotmail.com

Spring Calf Dies Outside West Yellowstone, April 9, 2000.

West Yellowstone, MT- The first buffalo calf born outside the west boundary of Yellowstone National Park died early this morning. Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) volunteers, on their early morning patrol of the north side of the Madison River, noticed the carcass among trees where the calf and its mother had been feeding for the past few days.

The buffalo was born during the early hours of Thursday, April 6, just before the most recent hazing operation conducted by the Montana Department of Livestock. Using cracker barrel shotguns and snowmobiles, the DOL ran a mixed herd of fourteen buffalo more than two miles from the Gallatin National Forest to the park.

BFC volunteers stood between the DOL and the calf and its mother. By the DOL's own admission, the calf was too young to move. Since Thursday, BFC volunteers have noticed its deteriorating condition.

"The DOL say they are ensuring the health safety of livestock and citizens but chasing pregnant females around makes no sense even from a disease control point of view," said BFC volunteer Pete Leusch, who was first to discover the dead calf. "Hazing causes unnecessary stress for pregnant buffalo, as well as pregnant elk and moose, thereby increasing the risk of abortion, the very condition the DOL is supposedly concerned about."

There were several pregnant cows in the herd on Thursday, who were chased across highway 191 and over a guardrail. Buffalo migrate along the Madison every Spring, on their way to Horse Butte, a favorite Spring feeding ground for buffalo as well as elk, moose, grizzly bear, and bald eagle.

There are no cattle on these National Forest lands until June 15.

Buffalo Field Campaign volunteers defend the buffalo on their traditional 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.

Banner Hanging Activists Released On Their Own Recognizance, April 12, 2000

Big Sky, MT- Early this morning, three Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) volunteers, Dieka Gericke (27), Tiffany Brown (22) and Robert Zweifel (30) were released on their own recognizance from the Virginia City jail in Madison County, Montana. Gericke and Brown were charged with criminal trespassing and obstruction of a peace officer. Zweifel was charged with criminal trespassing. All three plead not guilty.

The two women were arrested yesterday morning at the Summit Hotel at Big Sky Mountain Resort after hanging a 20x50 foot banner off the 10th floor balcony. The enormous banner read "Racicot's Buffalo Slaughter Kills Tourism" and depicted two lavishly painted decapitated buffalo heads.

The women were protesting Marc Racicot's continued harassment and slaughter of the last wild and free roaming buffalo in the United States. Protected as wildlife inside Yellowstone National Park, buffalo are demoted to livestock when they enter Montana and are placed under management of the Montana Department of Livestock.

"What has Governor Racicot done for the tourism industry? His continued policy of harassing and killing wild buffalo has initiated national boycotts targeting tourism in Montana and yet he says he wants to encourage growth of the already 1.5 billion DOLlar a year industry. People don't travel to Montana to see dead buffalo, they come to see wildlife and world renowned scenic landscapes," said Dieka Gericke.

The huge banner was hung as part of an all-day rally organized by the Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) to call attention to the hypocrisy of Governor Racicot's conflicting stances on tourism and the buffalo who draw visitors to the region. Activists performed guerrilla street theater this moring at 11am, including a skit illustrating the close ties between Montana Governor Racicot and Department of Livestock (DOL) agents. An 11 foot-tall Racicot killed throngs of buffalo while a larger than life-sized buffalo skeleton paraded outside the Big Sky Conference Center where the Governor spoke.

The demonstration was held outside The Governors Conference on Tourism and Recreation that took place Monday and Tuesday at Big Sky. The Governor spoke Tuesday night and made no defense of his continued slaughter of our national heritage, the last wild and free roaming buffalo.

Lt. Governor Judy Martz, a front-runner for the Governor's seat said, "Montana has not shot or put down a buffalo in two years. We do not like to put down these majestic animalsŠbut in fact we cannot let them destroy our number one industry [the livestock industry]."

In fact, the State of Montana slaughtered nearly one hundred bison just a year ago.

Jim Coefield, Ecosystem Defense Specialist for the Missoula based Ecology Center, criticized Martz statements: "Where was Judy last year when all the buffalo were being slaughtered? Hiding in Marc Racicot's shadow? Obviously she is too out of touch with wildlife issues to be a serious candidate for governor. Here she is at a tourism conference that is trying to build on and promote the billion and a half DOLlar tourist economy and all she can do is spout 19th century propaganda lauding the cattle industry."

"Our actions yesterday were committed to challenge citizens and politicians throughout the U.S. to hold Racicot responsible for his unscientifically based slaughter of the Yellowstone National Park (YNP) buffalo. We hope to spread awareness of Governor Racicot's slaughter of more than 2,000 buffalo in the past eight years. As a possible candidate for Vice President or a cabinet position, is Governor Racicot someone we would want to manage public lands and wildlife when he has only demonstrated his kowtowing to the Montana cattle industry?" stated Tiffany Brown.

Buffalo Field Campaign volunteers defend the buffalo on their traditional winter habitat and advocate for their protection. Buffalo Field Campaign is the only group working in the field everyday to stop the slaughter of Yellowstone's wild buffalo.

Department of Livestock Hazes 30+ Buffalo; Activist Arrested, April 13, 2000

West Yellowstone, MT--The Montana Department of Livestock (DOL) hazed more than 30 bison today in an unsuccessful attempt to chase the animals into Yellowstone National Park. In a rash of separate hazing operations, DOL agents fired cracker barrel rounds from snowmobiles and four-wheeled ATVs as they pursued the bison.

A lone bull who has been grazing near the Duck Creek capture facility since December was subjected to his second hazing operation in three weeks. DOL agents on snowmobiles chased the bull a few hundred yards into Yellowstone, committing multiple violations of park closures. This area of the park is closed to all human use at present to protect sensitive grizzly bear habitat, and is closed at all times to motorized use. Fresh grizzly tracks were observed in the immediate area as recently as Tuesday.

BFC volunteer Alan Ramos was arrested this afternoon on two counts of obstruction for attempting to slow approaching vehicles as the DOL hazed 30 bison along Highway 191 toward the Duck Creek trap. The agents made no attempt to warn oncoming traffic. BFC video footage documenting the arrest was confiscated by Gallatin County Sheriff's Deputy Rob Burns. Ramos was released on $340 bail.

"Today's events are further proof of the futility of hazing as a management tool," said Emily Kodama, a volunteer with the field campaign. A week ago the DOL hazed 14 buffalo back into Yellowstone, yet today there are nearly three times that number outside the park.

Marcus Baker, who was present during the operation, further observed, "When they started hazing this morning there were eight bison outside the park. Now, after the operation, there are more than 40. It makes you wonder about the effectiveness of their operations."

It appeared the DOL intended to haze the bison into the Duck Creek trap, despite recent assurances from Rob Tierney, DOL's director of bison management, that this season's actions would be restricted to hazing only.

Tierney's actions are the latest in a series of official misrepresentations of the state's buffalo management policies. At the Governor's Conference on Tourism held in Big Sky on Tuesday, Montana's Lt. Governor Judy Martz made the blatantly false statement that, "Montana has not shot or put down a buffalo in 2 years. We do not like to put down these majestic animals...but in fact we cannot let them destroy our number one industry (the livestock industry)." In fact, 96 buffalo were killed by the state of Montana last winter alone. Martz is the Republican front-runner for Governor Racicot's position.

Buffalo Field Campaign volunteers defend the buffalo on their traditional 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.