Fresh from the hot springs of Montana, two-legged EF! buffalo converged in Missoula to confront the buffalo killer Governor Marc Racicot during his brief visit to the Garden City. In the early morning hours, activists scaled the exit sign overlooking I-90 and hung a banner reading, "Stop the slaughter" with a painting of a healthy buffalo on one side and a bloody buffalo on the other. It was the first image the governor saw as he drove into Missoula County. Hours later, when the governor came to the University of Montana, he was welcomed by Earth First! and a lot of pissed off buffalo who stopped him from entering a meeting until he answered some questions about why his henchmen at the Department of Livestock (DOL) are killing our last wild buffalo herd.
The governor's policy is to treat the buffalo as livestock when they step out of Yellowstone National Park to look for food. This policy allows the DOL and other rednecks to shoot the buffalo. The governor responded to our questions with the usual political bullshit. While he was speaking, an activist took over the stage at the University Center to draw in students. Delyla Wilson spoke to about 100 people and two-legged buffalo until the DOL came and shot the buffalo with red dye. After the theater, activists cornered the governor once again. They demanded he answer more questions and attend a public meeting in March. The governor soon escaped, but the two-legged buffalo will return!
The buffalo then headed to the griz statue on campus and were greeted by 150 students ready for the Critical Herd march to Senators Baucus and Burns offices. This time the herd was confronted by city cops who demanded we walk on the sidewalk. But these were wild buffalo, so we took all four lanes and clogged traffic in all directions. One activist was given a $100 citation. As the herd marched downtown and by Hellgate High School the chant transformed from "Hey, Hey, Ho, Ho. Save the wild buffalo!" to "Skip school!" and, "They're teaching you lies, lies, lies!" Three students joined the march as it made its way downtown (followed by several hundred cars) to the senators' offices, which had closed up shop. The herd then headed to the federal building. Building security saw us coming but was unable to stop us from taking the front doors.
Last year 1,100 buffalo were slaughtered by Montana's Department of Livestock. This year only 11 have been killed due to the efforts of Buffalo Nations. One dead buffalo is too many! Help stop the madness; come to West Yellowstone, send people and money to Buffalo Nations, POB 957, West Yellowstone, MT 59758; (406) 642-0070. Thank you Earth First! and Environmental Action Community for taking a stand!
From the action in Missoula, some folks headed to Boise for an exclusive, wise-use meeting with the heads of the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Parks Service. With just a few people, we made a huge media splash! We not only delivered the Zero Cut message to Michael Dombeck, chief of the Forest Service, we caught the lens of the New York Times. A photo of our banner which read, "Dombeck - End Logging on Public Lands! Zero Cut!" appeared next to a photo of Dombeck and Park Service Director Robert G. Stanton.