Copyright © 2000 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

* Update from the Field

Department of Livestock (DOL) agents left West Yellowstone last Thursday and we haven't seen them since. Their absence has given us much needed rest as we brace for a difficult winter. A new bison management plan has just been signed. Under this new agreement, the needless hazing, trapping, and shooting of the Yellowstone Buffalo will continue. (For specifics details of the new agreement, please see the article and fact sheet below.)

In the absence of the DOL, our patrols have been truly wonderful. One volunteer had the experience of a lifetime, standing in a grove of lodgepole pines as four wolves passed just fifteen feet before him. Four year old Japhy Sanchez stood with the buffalo for the first time at Horse Butte and later joined us on our Madison River patrol. When we reached the river a group of bulls came down from the opposite bluff and stood on the flats directly across from our youngest volunteer.

The Madison wouldn't have been safe for Japhy last Wednesday, as DOL agents hazed those same buffalo along the river, firing explosive cracker rounds over the heads of volunteers who were there to document the operation.

On Thursday Rob Tierney, head of the DOL's field operations, phoned our cabin to say Merry Christmas just two hours after verbally accosting two of our volunteers and threatening to arrest them for "standing too close" to his truck.

We are grateful for the gifts of encouraging words, warm clothes, care packages, and donations you have been sending. Without your help we couldn't maintain our constant presence in the field.

If anyone has a lead on some warm winter boots (men's 10 and larger), wool mittens, or waterproof mitten shells, these are items we could use. We also need backcountry food, first aid supplies, and batteries AA and AAA high capacity nicad rechargables are best.

Thank you for your continued support of the Yellowstone buffalo and our efforts to protect them. We will keep you informed of the plight of the herd as events unfold this winter along the border of our nation's oldest national park.

For the Buffalo,

BFC volunteers

* Government's Bison Management Plan for the State of Montana and Yellowstone National Park Wastes Taxpayer Dollars and Threatens Last Wild Herd of Bison in the United States

Dear bison supporters,

On December 20th, public agencies dealt a cruel blow to the Yellowstone bison and their supporters when it released its Record of Decision (ROD) on the recently completed Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on Bison Management in Montana and Yellowstone. This "Joint Management Plan" will guide: bison management in Yellowstone; management on public land surrounding Yellowstone to the north and west (predominantly the Gallatin National Forest); and on private lands north and west of Yellowstone.

Unfortunately, the Clinton Administration took the unusual step of having the Secretaries of the Interior (Bruce Babbitt) and Agriculture (Dan Glickman) sign and authorize the immediate implementation of the Joint Management Plan. The ROD comes with its own shield from administrative appeal:

"Administrative Review:
There is no administrative appeal from decisions of the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture." -- ROD, page 61

This end-run around the National Environmental Policy Act effectively closes the door to any possible appeal of the Joint Management Plan. The Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior are the final arbiters of any appeal of an agency decision, like the ROD, that could have been raised. This leaves us with no other avenues other than taking the Departments of Interior and Agriculture to court and suing them over the FEIS and its ROD. Unfortunately, this will be a time consuming and costly proposition, as the Joint Management Plan is a very long and complex document, and hashing out all the details in court will be laborious and unpredictable.

On the other hand, bison supporters were handed a bone with their lump of coal, as the ROD also mentions that the permit for grazing cattle on the Horse Butte Grazing Allotment expires on December 31, 2000. Recognizing the public controversy over this allotment, as expressed in a citizen's campaign to raise awareness of the grazing issue as a driving factor behind the Joint Management Plan, the ROD included the following decision:

"The livestock permit on the Horse Butte allotment is due for consideration and probably reissuance in 2001. The Gallatin National Forest will complete a NEPA process tiered to the bison management EIS before it issues a permit." -- ROD, Page 61.

To date, over 90,000 petition signatures have been delivered to the Departments of Interior and Agriculture and the Forest Service demanding that public lands outside of Yellowstone--particularly Horse Butte-- be reserved for wildlife habitat and bison. A lot of pressure was placed on the Departments and Forest Service from the top down to eliminate the Horse Butte Grazing Allotment. This effort manifested itself in the above ROD reference to move up the NEPA process to 2001 (from its originally scheduled 2004 date) to analyze the allotment and reissue or cancel the permit.

Unfortunately, the Gallatin National Forest violated it's own Chief's ROD by extending the grazing permit for a 10 year period without NEPA review. The reissuance of the grazing permit before it expired on December 31st, however, is a direct (and illegal) slap in the face to the public that overwhelmingly supported ending cattle grazing at Horse Butte. This leaves us with an agency decision (to renew the lease) that puts the ROD in direct conflict with the reissued permit. Unfortunately, once again we will have to drag this into court for clarification. Unfortunately, Dave Garber, the Gallatin Forest Supervisor has just effectively burned up a whole lot of tax payers monies again, because he chose to act politically instead of practically. Where has common sense gone?

So, while it is a sad day for the bison, I hope that in coming year we can all find a way to help out with the Yellowstone bison. It will be a tough year, and judging by the weather, and the prescriptions of the Joint Management Plan, we can expect the Montana State Department of Livestock to roll out its bison slaughtering machine in the near future. For a summary of some of the details surrounding the Joint Management Plan, please read on.

For the buffalo,
Jim Coefield
E-mail: webmaster@wildrockies.org

Facts re: The Government's Management Plan

* Taxpayers will foot the bill to the tune of $2.6 to $2.9 million a year for the next 15 years - $39 million to $43.5 million dollars or more over the life of the plan.

* 67,520 people who commented on the bison management plan overwhelmingly favored natural management of the bison herd, restriction of cattle rather than bison, and acquisition of additional winter range and use of public lands for wild and free roaming bison.

* Yellowstone's wild bison herd are the only population that have continuously occupied their native range in the United States.

* The plan is designed to protect approximately 2,019 cow/calf pairs that graze on buffalo range on public and private lands within 10 miles of Yellowstone National Park - less than 4% of the cattle population of Gallatin and Park counties. These cattle are present only when conditions permit, i.e. only for a few months out of the year because of Yellowstone's severe winters.

* The plan does not reach solutions, but only manages the 'problem'.

* The plan will likely remove bison that carry a natural genetic trait that resists brucellosis infection. The gene is called NRAMP1 (natural resistance associated macrophage protein1). The government admits not knowing how this genetic trait is expressed in the Yellowstone bison herd or how their management plan will affect bison's resistance to brucellosis infection.

* The National Park Service will attempt to prevent and disrupt bison migration to winter range by 'hazing' bison inside Yellowstone Park, and operating a bison capture facility at Stephens Creek on the northern boundary.

* Operation of the Stephens Creek bison capture facility is one factor that could lead to the likely extinction of Yellowstone's pronghorn antelope population.

* Pregnant female bison will be hazed, captured and tested for brucellosis. Females that will be released are invasively affixed with vaginal and radio telemetry devices to track bison births or abortions.

* Intensive management activities such as hazing, capturing, slaughtering and quarantining bison disrupts wildlife and wildlife habitat in the Yellowstone ecosystem. Elk, moose, antelope, bald eagles, Grey wolves, grizzly bears, trumpeter swans, pronghorn antelope and other native wildlife will experience stress, dispersal and dislocation under the government's plan.

* 5,174 bison will be 'removed' to slaughter or sent to quarantine over the next 15 years. Bison are a key preferred food source for threatened grizzly bears in Yellowstone. The continuing decline of whitebark pine nuts, army cutworm moths and fewer bison available under this plan casts doubt on the recovery of Yellowstone's threatened grizzly bears.

* Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers and Buffalo Field Campaign have documented illegal impacts by the Montana Department of Livestock to threatened bald eagle nests on Horse Butte Peninsula, on the Gallatin National Forest. The Gallatin National Forest issued a 10-year permit allowing the Montana Department of Livestock to operate a bison capture facility on Horse Butte. Horse Butte Peninsula, the Madison Arm and Hebgen Lake provides critical habitat for threatened bald eagles in Yellowstone's ecosystem. Three bald eagle nests are located within 1 1/2 miles of the bison capture facility. The groups have videotape of incidents involving violations of permit conditions and a bald eagle closure order by the Montana Department of Livestock during bison 'hazing and capture' operations.

* Prevention of bison migration to their native range through ill-defined and arbitrary zone management areas, enforcement of so-called 'tolerance limits' for bison outside Yellowstone Park, operation of four bison capture facilities, repeated hazing of bison within and outside the Park, shipping bison to slaughter or holding them in quarantine for years - negates the wild, free ranging nature that makes Yellowstone's bison herd unique.

Sources: 1. Bison Management Plan for the State of Montana and Yellowstone National Park, Final Environmental Impact Statement, August 18, 2000, Volume I at pages v, xxxiii, 15-41, 195, 287-288, 304-308, 309-316, 394, 456, 471, 531-532, 534.
2. Record of Decision for Final Environmental Impact Statement and Bison Management Plan for the State of Montana and Yellowstone National Park, December 20, 2000, at page 21.
3. Biological Assessment for the Interagency Bison Management Plan for the State of Montana and Yellowstone National Park, March 15, 2000, at page 46.
4. Biological Opinion on the proposed Horse Butte Bison Capture Facility, December 18, 1998, at pages 14-16.
5. Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers; The Ecology Center; and Buffalo Field Campaign, vs. U.S. Forest Service; U.S. Park Service; and Montana Department of Livestock, May 9, 2000.

Prepared by:
Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers
PO Box 7941 Missoula MT 59807
Phone: 406-728-0867
FAX: 406-327-1209
E-mail: cmcr@wildrockies.org
URL: http://www.wildrockies.org/cmcr

A press story: Yellowstone Bison Benefit Little from New Management Plan by the Environmental News Service, 12-21-00 http://www.ens-news.com/ens/dec2000/2000L-12-21-06.html

The Record of Decision on Bison Management for Yellowstone National Park and the State of Montana is available, go to: http://www.nps.gov/planning

* Thanks!

Our tummies and spirits thank:
Environmental Studies students at the University of Montana for collecting holiday treats! And our fav buffalo Baker, Jim, at Downtown Bakery (Missoula) for his generous donation of baked goods! and.... that warm coffee sure taste good on cold days as does that wonderful Traditional Medicines tea!! You know who you are that make this possible! ~grin~ Thanks to all for the gifts through the holiday. The buckeyes from Karen were delicious. ("Made me feel like I was home for the holidays." - VC, volunteer.) A huge thanks to "On the Rise" and "Great Harvest" for their continuous support. ("Love their bread.")

We are thankful to Honor the Earth for the support from the "Get Out the Indian Vote - Save the Yellowstone Buffalo" tour that came to Montana in October! Thank you!

Many Thanks to the Wiancko Family Donor Advised Fund of the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole and the PNC Corp.

A hearty round of applause for the Guac Fund, again and the Crosby Foundation!!! Tom, Carol & Debbie: "What can we say? - you're great!!"

Thanks also for the warm hats and gloves (JM)!

We have ordered 2 new radios thanks to your generosity in responding to the email earlier this month! This will help us out in the field! Thanks also for the Burford Book "Chorus of Buffalo" sales.

A special thanks to Butch, Sylvia, Joann, Jesse, Larry and BJ for all they do for the buffalo. We all love you guys very much.

And as always- your prayers, thoughts, letters, calls and support make it possible for us to be on the front lines with the buffalo defending their sacred right to be in their habitat! To everyone for the support and love. Thank you.... You make the cold warmer, the tears better, the buffalo stronger, the fight easier, the future brighter... With humble respect - we thank you.