Buffalo Field Campaign
Yellowstone Bison
Update from the Field
August 7, 2008

KEEP BFC ON THE FRONTLINES WITH A TAX DEDUCTIBLE CONTRIBUTION TODAY

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In this issue:
* Update from the Field - Contact Congress!
* Bonnie Raitt Benefit Tickets Still Available!
* COMMENT! Lousy Land Deal for Wild Buffalo
* Join BFC for WoodCut Week August 28 - September 3
* Last Words
* Kill Tally

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* Update from the Field

Dear Buffalo Friends,

When the U.S. Government Accountability Office released it’s report “Yellowstone Bison Interagency Plan (IBMP) and Agencies’ Management Need Improvement to Better Address Bison-Cattle Brucellosis Controversy” in March, it rightfully criticized the cooperating agencies for their lack of goals, objectives, and transparency, among other things. As a result, the IBMP partners scheduled a series of seven public meetings in Montana between August and December. These meetings are the agencies’ response to the well-deserved criticisms made by the GAO report. The first round of meetings began yesterday, August 6, and will continue through today. In the face of years of adverse reactions from the public towards the IBMP, and in the aftermath of the largest wild bison slaughter since the 1800s, the agencies are setting aside a whopping 30 minutes to members of the public, allotting each person a mere 2 minutes to speak.

Continue Reading »

Below are the notes taken by Darrell Geist, the Buffalo Field Campaign Habitat Coordinator, on the IBMP Meeting that occurred over two days in Bozeman, MT.

Interagency Bison Management Plan Meeting Notes 8/6-7/08

For what they are worth, sending these notes along to you all.

I used my 3 minutes to formally request that a management alternative
that designates Horse Butte as wild buffalo habitat be placed on the
agenda at one of their planned Interagency Bison Management Plan meetings for public deliberation
and decision making. The clearly definable objective: allow wild
buffalo to roam and occupy Horse Butte without government harassment
and harm. My two cents in three minutes time.
Continue Reading »

From: http://www.nps.gov/yell/parknews/0870.htm

Yellowstone National Park has completed the 2008 summer bison population estimate.

The summer population is estimated to be 3,000 bison. The estimate is based on a series of aerial surveys conducted in July.

The park expected a high level of winterkill; and in late winter estimated the herd at between 2,100 and 2,300 adult and yearling bison.

The winterkill was lower than estimated, and the herd now includes 2,500 adult and yearling bison, and 500 calves of the year, which are equally distributed between the Central Interior and Northern Range herds.

The population was estimated at 4,700 bison last summer. The peak population estimate of 4,900 bison was recorded in the summer 2005.

The summer population estimate is used to inform adaptive management strategies under the Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP). Specific management actions may be modified based on expected late winter population levels as corroborated by the summer population estimate.

The IBMP is a cooperative plan designed to conserve a viable, wild bison population while protecting Montana’s brucellosis-free status.

The five cooperating agencies operating under the IBMP are the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Montana Department of Livestock and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.