Report from BFC rally in Helena, May 14, 2008
This season to date 1,607 buffalo have been killed, according to Buffalo Field Campaign. As the killing continued, I joined a new group dedicated to providing support for the buffalo. One part of that mission is to provide solidarity to other groups with related missions. As a result, those in our group gladly support Buffalo Field Campaign; a few of us found the time to take the trip to Helena - a town I personally had never before been.
While we were in Helena, hazing of buffalo west of the park had begun. That was among the first topics of conversations among participants. The National Park Service in their press release have promised a "slow haze." As one of the rally participants said, "There's no such thing as a slow haze with a helicopter."
However, because of the location, there was not too much interaction with local people. A few stopped to look or came over to ask questions. From my personal standpoint, the point seemed to be one of spectacle so that a visual image of the death might be put on the Governor's lawn, indeed the lawn of the people of Montana - all of us in a small way culpable for not stopping this embarrassment. If the image provokes, then the action will be a success. I suppose reports like this - whether they are read and seen - will be part of the story of this particular action.
The rally ended with a kind of comical farce, a trip up to the Governor's office to give Governor Brian Schweitzer (along with Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Suzanne Lewis) a "Buffalo Bill Award" for having killed the most buffalo since any time since the 19th century. We marched into the State Capitol, up the stairs, and into his office to present him the award.
At one point, some of the governor's staff peaked in through the doorway. However, they soon scurried back into their office. Instead, it was an intern and buffalo friends engaged in a kind of silly banter. I said aloud that perhaps we should just sit there until he returns, but that wasn't really the plan.
From there, the rally ended. Perhaps, the governor got the message; however, it will take people continuing to let him know how badly he has turned his back from his campaign promises for him to feel the punishment. Schweitzer somehow has overseen a bison slaughter worse than his predecessors; however, he has done it with the gall to pretend that he is making progress on bison management. Buffer zones and split-state status and now the CUT deal all are slick ways to obscure the point - he is not doing anything to stop the killing.
If this rally had some shortcomings in getting the message across, it is only that much more imperative that we do more. It was heartening to see our town represented in Helena; with that, let's do more.
1 Comments:
Jesus-jumpin'-Christ-on-a-crutch, Jimmy! Fake tombstones on the lawn of the State Capitol? Buffalo Bill award? Bothering interns? You seriously need a hobby.
I mean, I understand what you're doing, and all, but really, what's it going to accomplish? Don't you think the governor understands by now that you buffalo people are feeling a bit cranky after this winter? I'm also reasonably certain that he knows that you folks are gonna stick around like guests at a party that don't know when it's time to go home. Or like an in-law that "only needs a place to stay for a week." He knows. We all know.
I won't go saying that I don't understand your obsession. Because I do. I read your article on April 21. I found it to a very entertaining read. Well, at first I was entertained. And then I was bored by all the philosophy crap. But you pulled it together at the end, and I was entertained some more. Heck, I even grew to respect you a little bit. Don't get me wrong, I still think you're wasting your efforts on a problem that isn't really a problem . . . but at least you know what you believe in and why, and you keep plugging away at it.
Even so, do you really believe that the buffalo in Yellowstone are in danger of extinction? Extinction??
I hate to keep restating this, but you yourself have said in the past that a healthy heard for the park is somewhere around 1,800 animals. So now we're in the ball park again. In order for them to become extinct, those remaining animals would have to completely stop reproducing, or every last one of them would have to wander into Montana and let the state have their way with them, or the government would have to go into the park and purposely eliminate them from the ecosystem, or some combination of all three of those events would have to happen.
So don't you think this whole "extinction" thing is just a bit of an exaggeration? I mean, c'mon, we just had a record sized herd this winter, and that's with everything that's been going on for the last ten years. So I don't know about you, but I'm fairly confident that barring anything catastrophic, the buffalo herd will rebound.
And I know, it's not just about size. Size matters, but not as much as giving them critters room to roam.
K. I get it. And I'm sure that one day, you folks'll bug the government enough that you'll get your way, or some compromise. But I'm wondering, do you have to do it with exaggerations? And how will you feel if you do get your way, and bison are allowed to wander outside the park, and their numbers get to be such that state of Montana opens up a bigger hunt than the one we've already got? Given the situation that buffalo are allowed to wander at will, wherever they want, but that some population control needs to be implemented just as with other game species . . . how will you feel about that?
Will that be another injustice to you? After you've gotten what you want, will you stick around and make sure the government doesn't pull any funny business? Or will you move on?
My guess is that there's enough going on in Yellowstone to ruffle your feathers for several lifetimes, and you won't be going anywhere. Which is fine with me, because you are just an endless source of entertainment for me. I've read other blogs, but they just don't compare to this one.
I may not agree with you. But I love you, Jimmy.
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