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FRIDAY
March 16, 2001
Vol 5, # 27

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WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. -- Wednesday afternoon seven wild and free-roaming bison were captured by the Montana Department of Livestock (DOL) and cooperating agencies, while others were being chased in an effort to capture them as well. Using a helicopter and snowmobiles, DOL agents chased bison several miles to the bison capture facility at Horse Butte, capturing two bison and losing others en route to the bison trap.  Four activists were arrested when they allegedly turned eight bison around, saving them from capture and potential slaughter. Four more volunteers with the Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) were arrested later with unknown charges.

Thursday morning, DOL released five of the bulls after they tested negative for brucellosis.  Several of the bulls were noticeably injured and all were traumatized by the incident.  Unfortunately, two magnificent bulls have been sent to slaughter.   These are the first bison to be killed in Montana in two years. While we mourn their loss, and the incredibly high ecological and monetary costs of this operation, we are thankful that so many were able to escape the slaughter house.

"The DOL resorted to hazing bison in an extremely disturbing manner for all species in the area.  They are wasting taxpayer money and harassing wildlife by hazing bison out of an area where there are never cattle, while insisting that they are protecting cattle from bison and brucellosis," stated BFC spokesperson Summer Nelson. One day prior to DOL activities two moose, a cow and calf, were  feeding one hundred feet away on the same tributary as several bull  bison on the Madison River.  On the same day more than 20 bald eagles  were observed foraging and in mating flights over the same area of  the river.  Since January of 2001 BFC volunteers have documented over  100 sightings of threatened bald eagles along the Madison River west of highway 191 and along the Horse Butte Peninsula.

Further wildlife disturbance was visible during Thursday's helicopter  hazing.  BFC spokesperson Mike Mease stated that "We stood there and witnessed at least ten Forest Service law enforcement officers watch a minimum of 150 trumpeter swans get flushed off of the open water where they were resting.   They flew away from the helicopter more than three miles northwest over Horse Butte.  When we asked the officials if they were going to do something about it, none of them responded."

Trumpeter swans are considered a sensitive species under the endangered species act and are monitored closely by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Montana claims that such measures are necessary to protect cattle from receiving brucellosis from bison and plans to spend over 40 million dollars at taxpayer expense in the next 15 years to manage wild bison. While Montana insists that bison are a threat to cattle and the state's brucellosis-free status, both species as well as elk carrying brucellosis, have co-mingled for over 40 years in Jackson, WY without a case of brucellosis transmission between the species. There has never been a documented case of transmission from bison to
cattle in a natural setting.

The summer grazing on Horse Butte amounts to 172 cow/calf pairs. This grazing allotment brings in less than $800 to the U.S. Treasury. The USDA does not have the legal authority to revoke Montana's status based solely on the presence of potentially exposed wildlife in the  state. Thus, Montana's fears and actions are unjustified and unsupported by science.

Buffalo Field Campaign volunteers defend the buffalo on their traditional winter 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.

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS

Russ Finley
Ralph Maughan
Kim Steinbacher
Steve Brashear
Clint Wilkes
Hon. Bob Gammage
Lee Whittlesey
David Monteith
Denise Elmer
Dr. Bob Bara
Matthew McLean

YELLOWSTONE'S 2001 BUDGET RELEASED TO PUBLIC
by National Park Service

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (NPS) --  Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Michael V. Finley announced today that the park’s annual budget is available for public review. The National Parks Omnibus Management Act of 1998, legislation sponsored by Senator Craig Thomas (R), Wyoming, stipulated that all national parks make their budgets available to the public. The table below provides an overview of the primary sources and uses of Yellowstone funding in broad categories.

**Concession contract fees that benefit the park but are not directly received as funds amount to approximately $10 million. These funds are used for the most part to maintain historic government-owned facilities assigned to concessioners.

As shown in this chart, the majority of the park’s budget (38.5 percent) is spent on facility maintenance and operations. Maintenance activities include plowing park roads for spring opening, routine road maintenance, boardwalk and trail maintenance, building maintenance and janitorial services, campground and lawn care, and utility system operations. Visitor Services comprises 33 percent of the annual budget. Monies in this account are devoted to visitor services, including park rangers who perform emergency medical services, wildland and structural fire fighting, law enforcement patrols, and other visitor safety services; services in one of the nine Visitor Centers, Museums, and Information Stations; backcountry offices; and interpretive programs such as campfire programs, ranger-led activities, and outreach programs to students and communities.

The park has allocated 16.5 percent of its budget to resource protection through sample programs that include bear, wolf, bison and other wildlife research and management, fisheries management, archeological research and protection. Park management and administration represents 12 percent of the park budget; this includes overall park management through the Superintendent’s Office, hiring employees, ordering supplies and materials, and negotiating contracts; managing and accounting for park monies; and planning and compliance with federal, state and local cooperators. The chart also clearly demonstrates that while the majority of the park’s funding is appropriated directly by the Congress, 18 percent is generated from a variety of recreational and other fees.

This level of funding will prevent the park from filling approximately 15 percent of its permanent positions. Operations that will be reduced or curtailed include exotic species control, monitoring park resources, ranger patrols, interpretive programs, and some cyclic and preventative maintenance.

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BILLINGS, Mont. -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that the Yellowstone cutthroat trout will not be considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act, citing a lack of "substantial biological information" to support such a listing.

Several environmental organizations petitioned for the listing in 1998.  The Yellowstone cutthroat inhabit Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, with most of their habitat lying within Yellowstone National Park.  Much of the trout's original range has been lost over the past one hundred plus years, and the fish faces continuing threats from hybridization with rainbow trout, competition from brook and brown trout, overgrazing, mining and road building.

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WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. -- Snowmobile Expo 2001 is underway this weekend in West Yellowstone.  Events include daily races today through Sunday.  In addition, displays with the latest in snowmobiles and equipment will be shown in the Expo Exhibition Center daily.

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