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Our patrol left the cabin yesterday morning for a recon into Yellowstone Park along the Madison River. The day was beginning to warm up from the -16 degree night. As we drove east on Highway 287, the sun shone on the snow-covered surface of Lake Hebgen and Horse Butte rose out of that vast field of ice. We arrived and hiked east along the north shore of the river, heading towards the Park boundary. The air was still and cold, and ice crystals clung to the willows and the sage that line the valley. We would hike a mile into the Park, looking for bison heading west towards Montana.

In the course of three hours, we saw an enormous golden eagle, a bald eagle, a herd of more than 30 elk, and over 20 trumpeter swans, which are considered a sensitive species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Thankfully, there were no buffalo on their way out of the Park, but the abundance of wildlife on our brief trek reminded me of the panic caused by the ripples of disturbance and harassment that shoot out into the wild whenever the DOL are hazing buffalo. We sat for a while on the bank of the Madison, listening to the crunching sounds of the ice floes as they crashed into the bank, broke up and reformed, then moved on downstream. The slushy sound of the colliding ice rolled on and on, and my mind dreamt of a time when the snowmobiles, the helicopters, and the cracker rounds will fall silent. In my mind the buffalo stand in safety on this shore listening to the ice grind along the bank, free to roam and graze in this incredible valley and beyond.

As I write this, there are two DOL agents in the area. Our patrols haven't reported any activity against the buffalo today. Our hopes go out that the end of this year will be peaceful and safe for the bison in the area. And as always, we'll keep you posted.

For the buffalo,
Jonas Ehudin, Media Coordinator