KEEP BFC ON THE FRONTLINES WITH A TAX DEDUCTIBLE CONTRIBUTION TODAY

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In this issue:
* Special Alert! Help Buffalo on the Hill - Reach Out to Congress
* Update from the Field
* BFC & Coffee Jones Present the Buffalo Blend
* Bonnie Raitt BFC Benefit Tickets ~ Only 7 Tickets Left!
* COMMENT: Montana Buffalo Hunt Planned for 2008-2009
* “Let Buffalo Roam” License Plates for Every State!
* Buffalo (and Elk!) in the News
* Last Words
* Kill Tally
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* Special Alert! Help Buffalo on the Hill - Reach Out to Congress

Yellowstone buffalo need your help in the halls of Congress. Do you live near or plan to visit the Washington D.C. area? We would like to distribute our new collaborative newsletter, Buffalo News, to members of the U.S. Congress returning from their Independence Day break this week. With 535 members to reach, can you help us distribute newsletters to Congressional offices throughout the country? If you’re not heading towards the nation’s capitol, any time is a good time to visit your House and Senate district offices. Most members of Congress have offices in close proximity to where you live, and they want to hear from constituents about their concerns. Let them know the buffalo are a big concern for you, and you want them to take positive action to help make room to roam for the United State’s last wild population of American bison. District office locations and contact information are available on your House and Senate member’s web sites. Visit the links below.

We will send you copies of Buffalo News for you to distribute on the Hill or to district offices. Please drop us an email to Help Buffalo on the Hill: buffalo@wildrockies.org

Find your Representative
Find your Senators

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* Update from the Field

Dear Buffalo Friends,

The few survivors in our nation’s last wild population of buffalo are enjoying a respite from the horrendous treatment they and their relatives received this past season. The buffalo are nourishing themselves on the plentiful grasses of Yellowstone’s high summer country, raising their young, preparing for the coming rut season that will bring on the next generation, and building their bodies to survive another long, harsh winter. We still do not know how many buffalo survived the season; the Park Service has yet to do an estimate and release the information. But we do know the numbers are dangerously low; as of early April, there were only an estimated 2,100 wild buffalo remaining.

And there is no doubt that the coming winter may be a difficult one for the buffalo and also for the elk. Since Montana has lost it’s brucellosis-free status, the state is, of course, eager to take it out on grass-eating wildlife. Montana along with various cattlemen associations, livestock interests, and government agencies are devising plans for elk test-and-slaughter programs. Many of you have been sending us articles you’ve seen about this potential travesty. Ranchers continue to complain of there being “too many” buffalo and elk, yet the nation hosts more than 100 million non-native cattle, a large number of which graze in places where they simply should not be; places that should be reserved for wildlife, such as the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. We expect that hunters and wildlife enthusiasts will not tolerate more of the same from the livestock interests, and we intend to stop more slaughter before it begins, be it elk or buffalo.

If livestock interests have their way, what you see in this video could become par for the course for Montana’s elk. Stop it before it starts! Wild bison and elk are national treasures, public resources, integral parts of the land, food for predators and for our souls, and we cannot allow livestock interests to call the shots any longer. It is imperative that we all contact our Members of Congress and the media, letting them know we will not stand for more of the same and encourage them to take necessary action that respects and protects native wildlife and their habitat, while curbing the unwarranted power and fear-based propaganda of the livestock industry!

Find your Representative
Find your Senators
Newspapers to contact

Don’t hesitate to contact your Members of Congress now. It is an excellent time to get in touch with them, because support for the buffalo is growing, as Buffalo Field Campaign has been learning while tabling in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Interactions with park visitors have been incredibly positive. Our tablers are surprised and very pleased at the increasing number of people already aware of the issue who are disgusted by the government and industry’s actions. The engaging conversations are demonstrating that the word is getting out in Montana and across the nation. The numbers of people for the buffalo are rising!

YOU are a huge part of this shift in consciousness. Endless pressure, endlessly applied. Keep it up ~ we are all making a positive difference in this centuries-old range war.

Roam Free!
~Stephany

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* Buffalo Field Campaign & Coffee Jones Present the Buffalo Blend

BFC and Coffee Jones, a certified fair trade and independent, organic, artisan coffee roaster, have come together to offer the Buffalo Blend for your coffee-sipping pleasure. Buffalo Blend is the preferred choice for those who enjoy the caramelized flavors of dark roasted coffees but want a sparkling finish. This blend features the full body of Papua New Guinea coffees to ease you into your day-yet is spiced with the fruity brightness of Nicaraguan coffees to get you on your way.

A true reflection of the mighty bison: dark strength, bright energy!

BFC will receive 12% of your purchase price to help fund the vital work we do for wild bison. Your coffee will be roasted only after you order it and delivered to you within 24 hours ~ that’s how Coffee Jones operates!

To order, please call Michael at Coffee Jones, 303.717.2381 and ask for the Buffalo Blend and/or any other roasts. By mentioning that you are a supporter of Buffalo Field Campaign and of Wild and Free Bison, we will receive 12%. It’s that easy!

We hope to make your orders web-accessible and will let you know when this convenience is available.
Thanks for your support, and cheers!

Learn more at:

Buffalo Field Campaign
Coffee Jones
4944 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80301

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* Bonnie Raitt BFC Benefit Tickets ~ Only 7 Tickets Left!

Enjoy incredible music by the beautiful and talented Bonnie Raitt while helping keep Buffalo Field Campaign on the front lines with the last wild buffalo! The Guacamole Fund has generously offered Buffalo Field Campaign 20 tickets to legendary singer/songwriter Bonnie Raitt’s concert coming to Big Sky, MT on August 27, 2008. Tickets are $200 each and include an aftershow backstage visit with Bonnie! Ticket purchases go directly to Buffalo Field Campaign.

Only 7 tickets are left! Get yours now!

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* COMMENT: Montana Buffalo Hunt Planned for 2008-2009

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission has decided to go ahead with the exact same bison hunt as last season. The state has still not provided any year-round habitat for wild bison in Montana, and they are still aggressively and lethally “managed” by the Montana Department of Livestock, the agency that is also authorizing the hunt. Fewer than 2,100 wild American bison currently exist and they will be under the gun again this winter.

TAKE ACTION FOR THE BUFFALO! Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is accepting public comments through July 18, and they need to hear from you! Please click here to submit your comments today and please spread the word to save the herds!!!

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* “Let Buffalo Roam” License Plates for Every State

American bison once spanned the continent, 50 million strong, making their home in nearly all 50 states for over 10,000 years. One way people across the land of the wild buffalo can show support for their return is to make a statement with Montana’s new ‘Let Buffalo Roam’ license plates. Official plates are available for Montana residents, and anyone outside of Montana can get sample plates to let everyone know you think Montana should let the buffalo roam! Your purchase of plates goes directly towards BFC’s front lines work.

Learn how to get yours here. When you get your plates, send us a photo and we will consider it for Photo of the Week, and will post them on our web site to show the growing support across the land for wild buffalo being free to roam!

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* Buffalo (and Elk!) in the News

7/6 - Letter: Brucellosis management has utterly failed
Billings Gazette

7/6 - Focus on elk as disease persists near Yellowstone
Associated Press

6/30 - Brucellosis policy is unrealistic
Casper Star Tribune

6/29 - Letter: Policy degrades healthy gene pool
Casper Star Tribune

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* Last Words

“Park Service officials insist that Yellowstone’s wildlife is the property of the entire country. If the bison aren’t allowed to roam across boundaries that are political rather than ecological, park officials and conservationists say, Yellowstone risks becoming a gigantic, artificial zoo rather than a refuge where nature is allowed to take its course.”

~ This was the mindset of Yellowstone National Park back in 1997. From an article in Newsweek, “Homeless on the Range: Bison Are Protected If They Stay Within Yellowstone. But If They Roam Out, State Livestock Agents Will Shoot Them”, By Daniel Glick, Mar 17, 1997 issue.

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* Kill Tally

AMERICAN BISON ELIMINATED from the last wild population in the U.S.
2007-2008 Total: 1,613
2007-2008 Slaughter: 1,447
2007-2008 Hunt: 166
2007-2008 Quarantine: 112

Total Since 2000: 3,678*
*includes lethal government action, quarantine, hunts

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

BFC is the only group working in the field every day
in defense of the last wild buffalo population in the U.S.

Stay informed! Get our weekly email Updates from the Field:
Send your email address to bfc-media@wildrockies.org

* View BFC Video Footage

* NEW VIDEO! To Protect the Wild Bison

* Why are they killing the last wild buffalo?

* NEW! Buffalo Field Campaign Blog

* Protect Horse Butte for Wild Buffalo!

* BOYCOTT BEEF! It’s what’s killing wild buffalo

* Speak Out! Contact politicians and involved agencies today

* Write a Letter to the Editor of key newspapers

* Help the buffalo by recycling your used cell phones & printer cartridges.
It’s free and easy.