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Most Americans don’t know that state and federal agencies including the National Parks Service are collaborating in killing thousands of healthy wild buffalo every year. Native American organizations and wildlife defenders are asking us to join in their efforts to stop this unnecessary slaughter. Held sacred by many Native peoples, the wild buffalo is an iconic symbol of the American west. We nearly drove it to extinction 150 years ago. Will we allow it to be exterminated now?

GR# 3/08 SAVE THE WILD BUFFALO / USA

Issued June 2, 2008

Wild buffalo are a keystone species critical to the health of grasslands ecosystems, and an integral aspect of many Native American cultures, but they are ecologically extinct everywhere outside of Yellowstone National Park. The wild buffalo that inhabit the Yellowstone region are the descendants of the vast herds of millions that once occupied most of North America. They are the only bison to continuously occupy their native range, and they are behaviorally unique as they still follow their migratory instincts. They are one of the last populations to retain the identity of Bison bison as a wild indigenous species native to North America.

But, instead of being protected, these wild buffalo are under siege. In the past ten years nearly 4,000 wild buffalo have been killed by state and federal agencies for migrating across Yellowstone Park’s ecologically meaningless boundaries and into non-parkland Montana. These wild creatures – males, females and calves – are systematically trapped, captured and delivered to slaughterhouses. Today, fewer than 2,100 wild bison exist in the United States.

This year, Yellowstone Park and Montana state agencies have killed 1,600 wild buffalo (more than one-third of the last continuously wild population), leading to the largest-scale bison slaughter since the late 1800s. When other losses are counted (including wild bison removed for quarantine research, winter kill, highway mortality, and other deaths), nearly two-thirds of the wild population has been lost.

Yellowstone National Park, the Montana Department of Livestock and other state and federal agencies carry out the wild bison killing to appease Montana’s cattle interests. The cattle industry claims they fear the spread of a cattle disease called brucellosis (Brucella abortus) from wild bison to cattle. Wild bison have never transmitted this disease to cattle, and the risk of transmission is nearly non-existent. Brucellosis was introduced to native wildlife by European livestock. While these other native wildlife that carry the disease are free to roam, wild bison are held prisoners by an arbitrary political fence.

At a closer look one sees that the issue is not about disease; it is about the grass and who gets to eat it. So the centuries-old buffalo wars continue.

Seventh Generation Fund for Indian Development (www.7genfund.org/) and Buffalo Field Campaign (www.buffalofieldcampaign.org), are leading the efforts to stop the slaughter, protect wild bison habitat, naturally restore wild bison to their historic range. They aim to bring Native voices and power into the decision-making process and revitalize their historic relationship with the sacred wild buffalo. This campaign is also endorsed by the Indigenous Environmental Network (www.ienearth.org/) and Honor the Earth (www.honorearth.org).

How you can help: Please write letters to the officials listed below. Urge them to take immediate steps to stop the wild bison slaughter. Tell them you believe that:

Wild buffalo should be allowed to restore themselves on their native range, starting with the Horse Butte peninsula, and surrounding Gallatin National Forest lands.
Wild buffalo should be listed as an endangered species with their historic range included as critical habitat
The harassment and killing of wild buffalo by all state and federal agencies should cease
Native American tribes should have a strong voice in all decisions affecting wild buffalo and their habitat
The Montana Department of Livestock should be removed from all authority and involvement in wild buffalo management
Yellowstone National Park should withdraw from the Interagency Bison Management Plan, shut down the Stephens Creek bison trap, and refrain from harassing and killing wild buffalo
Wild buffalo should be respected as a valued native wildlife species in Montana, able to live freely as elk, deer, moose and other wildlife do.

Please write to:

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer
State Capitol
PO Box 200801
Helena, MT 59620-0801
1-406-444-3111
brianschweitzer@mt.gov

Superintendent Suzanne Lewis
Yellowstone National Park
P.O. Box 168
Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190-0168
Yell_superintendent@nps.gov OR Suzanne_lewis@nps.gov

Michael Stempel
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
134 Union Boulevard
Suite 645
Lakewood, CO 80228
Mike_stempel@fws.gov

For more information contact:

Buffalo Field Campaign
P.O. Box 957
West Yellowstone, MT 59758
406-646-0070
buffalo@wildrockies.org
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org

Buffalo Field Campaign is the only group working in the field every day in defense of the last wild buffalo population in the United States.

Seventh Generation Fund for Indian Development
P.O. Box 4569
Arcata, CA 95518
707-825-7640
http://www.7genfund.org/contact_us.php

The Seventh Generation Fund is an Indigenous non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and maintaining the uniqueness of Native peoples throughout the Americas