Over a week has passed since I arrived at the BFC camp. The temperture here has been around 10-20 degrees, and heavy snow falls every few days, but the wind has been absent and the sun plentiful, so being out on patrols has been quite pleasant.
No buffalo have been captured, killed or hazed (chased back into the park by Montana Department ofLivestock Agents), but I did witness one attempted hazing. It seems that the Buffalo are often times smarter than their enemies. Had the DOL agents gotten to work an hour or so earlier, they might have captured a buffalo last week, but as it turned out, George, the bull buffalo that has been grazing in a subdivision just west of the park, decided to walk the quarter mile or so back into Yellowstone minutes before the DOL Agents arrived on snowmobiles to haze him. This turn of events was further quickened by a cruel-minded home-owner who took it upon himself to chase the buffalo out of his driveway, down the road and across the highway, using his pick-up truck to frighten the animal into a terrified run. Were it not for BFC volunteers being onscene to slow traffic down, George might have met his end at the front grille of an on-coming semi.
A day later, after the out-of-town DOL Agents went home, George was right back in the subdivision, as if he were taunting his would-be captors.
The campaign recieved good news today, as the proposed bison ‘hunt’ that was scheduled for Jan.15 was cancelled by the new Montana governor. It was only three days after his inaguration that Gov. Swietzer decided that Montana didn’t need the black-eye that this hunt was threatening to inflict on the state. Media from all over the world covered the story of the ‘hunt’, which, as many people noted, would have been as sporting as shooting a parked car or a sofa. The governor is to be applauded for this bold move, and encouraged to continue with efforts to end the much greater slaughter that is being undertaken by the Department of Livestock and Yellowstone Parks Service. He can be contacted at:
Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer
State Capitol
Helena, MT 59620-0801
Phone: 1-406-444-3111
Fax: 1-406-444 5529
E-mail: Governor@state.mt.us
Please let him know you are grateful for what he has done for the buffalo and urge to to help put a stop to the continueing slaughter. Visit www.buffalofieldcampaign.org for tips on letter writing and more details on the campaign.
Filed under: Bison, Original content
