By Greg Lawson -
[email protected]
Since 1984 I have been proud to be a National Park
Service ranger, I have also been deeply ashamed that the NPS has been
unable to protect the very animal which is it's symbol, the bison, also
known as the American buffalo. Since the year I became a ranger, the
state of Montana has slaughtered over 3500 bison who wandered outside
the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park onto other public land in
the Gallatin National Forest. The Park Service and the Forest Service
have assisted the Montana Department of Livestock to capture and destroy
these buffalo.
The US Forest Service, which mismanages much of our
federal land, is a branch of the Department of Agriculture and still
operates under the notion that cattle grazing, logging and mining are
the most productive uses of the wilderness. The National Park Service
maintains over 370 parks, monuments, memorials and other areas including
Yellowstone which is home to the last wild, free roaming herd of bison.
More than 200 bison were senselessly slaughtered this
last winter and spring to protect the interests of a handful of cattle
ranchers. I had hoped that the killing was over for this season at
Yellowstone, but on Wednesday, June 5, the Montana Department of
Livestock shot two more bison.
In late May, the Montana DOL stopped testing the bison
they captured for brucellosis, which has been the excuse they have used
to justify the killing. The cattle ranchers were worried about this
disease, supposedly. But, there has never been a case of bison
transmitting brucellosis to cows in the wild. The elk of the region also
carry the brucellosis bacteria and have passed the disease to cattle.
But Montana doesn't cull the elk because elk hunting brings in millions
of dollars to the state's economy. The truth is, the cattle industry of
Montana considers buffalo pests and they feel they are the ones who
should control the wildlife and lands in Montana. It's a range war
between the state and federal government.
Over the next 15 years, the federal government plans to
spend $45 million to haze, capture and slaughter bison that wander
outside Yellowstone Park. Almost all the bison wander into one livestock
grazing allotment in the Gallatin National Forest, an allotment that
returns to the government less than $800 a year in grazing fees and
which isn't even grazed by Montana livestock, but by cows trucked in
from Idaho.
On May 30th, U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina ordered
a halt to cattle grazing at Horse Butte, land near Yellowstone National
Park's western border, until the U.S. Forest Service does an impact
assessment and determines how cattle grazing affects bison and other
wildlife. This is a major victory which will put a hold on grazing in
the area until 2004. Read about this decision here... bison: judge's
decision halts cattle grazing at Horse Butte, Montana
http://www.greateryellowstone.org/bison_court_decision_nr.html
Now is the time to pressure the Forest Service not to
reissue grazing permits at Horse Butte. Please take a moment to call or
write.....
Dale Bosworth; Chief, United States Forest Service
4NW Yates Federal Building 201 14th Street SW at Independence Ave SW
Washington, D.C. 20250
phone - 202 205 1661
email [email protected]
The Fund for Animals has this action page with a sample
letter you can send to Montana Governor Judy Martz. Ask her to please
stop killing the bison of Yellowstone. These animals belong to all of us
and are being killed on public land.
The Fund for Animals: Take Action!
http://www.fund.org/action/takeaction.asp?page=view&alert=187
Governor Judy Martz
State Capitol
1301 East 6th Avenue
Helena, MT 59620-0801
Telephone: (406) 444-3111
Fax: (406) 444-4151
To learn more about this issue and what you can do,
please visit Buffalo Field Campaign
http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo/ the only group in the field
every day trying to protect the buffalo. Here is a link to their action
page Speak out for the Buffalo!
http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo/speak/speakdo.html
with names and addresses you can write to stop this senseless annual
slaughter.
Go on to Pets Have
Rights, Too
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