44 of Americas Last Wild Buffalo Shot Dead Yards from Yellowstone

More sad news from the Buffalo Field Campaign. Once again the Department of the Interior fails in it's mission. Here's hoping the new Secretary will do a better job of protecting America's last wild buffalo.

* Update from the Field


Between Thursday and Sunday, forty-four of America's last wild buffalo were killed in the Gardiner Basin by hunters with the Nez Perce and Umatilla tribes. Most of these buffalo were shot less than 300 yards from the north boundary of Yellowstone National Park, on a small area of Gallatin National Forest land called Beattie Gulch. Three of the buffalo that were shot here did not immediately fall but walked into Yellowstone, where they were not allowed to be retrieved by the Nez Perce hunters who shot them; their bodies left to the ecosystem. According to state and tribal officials, the hunters who shot these buffalo are being allowed to keep their tags to kill other buffalo. In another incident, three other buffalo were illegally shot and killed by two non-tribal members.

Two days later we watched as more than a hundred buffalo approached these killing fields. They found the remains of their relatives strewn across the land like fleshy boulders left behind by glaciers. We watched in sorrowful awe as the buffalo approached the gut piles. Their tails shot up in the air as they ran from remain to remain, discovering what was left. Enormous bulls bellowed like roaring dragons, mouths agape, bodies arched, and pawing the ground. The buffalo placed their faces close to the flesh left behind, nuzzling their muzzles into the earth where the buffalo had fallen. They sniffed at fetuses still sheltered in their mother's flesh whose lives were ended before they were born. The buffalo circled and scattered, ran to each other and away again. Sparring, bumping, running, pawing and crying out in their deep emotion of their discovery. Watching, we could only think of it as a wake, a mighty wailing of the buffalo. Back and forth they ran, frantic, between the gut piles that had been their friends, their family. Like chieftains in their own right, fathers of their clans, the mature bulls lingered the longest, as the mothers and grandmothers lead the young ones on in an ancient procession, their deliberate footsteps slower in their sorrow.

The depth of relationship the buffalo share is timeless, intense, and far beyond most people's willingness or ability to accept or understand. Indeed, it is easier, more convenient, to ignore or pretend that it doesn't mean anything. In that blindness we deny not only to other creatures, but to ourselves, the honest power of love, the gift of respect, and the aid of wisdom. The buffalo already encompass these things, and they are patiently waiting on the brink for us to catch up.

Please read below to learn about the ways you can help wild buffalo right now, and help raise awareness by sharing this email with all of your friends and contacts.

Wild is the Way ~ Roam Free!
~ Stephany

Yellowstone Buffalo Slated for Misguided Slaughter

Nothing is sadder than Yellowstone National Parks failure to protect the buffalo entrusted to it by the American people. It is their duty to protect all the wildlife in Yellowstone and slaughtering thousands of buffalo at the behest of the Montana Livestock Association is a miserable failure and abdication of the parks responsibilities. Please support the Buffalo Field Campaigns heroic efforts to save the remaining buffalo of America's last genetically pure herd. 

Bull buffalo mourn a comrad shot by a hunter. Buffalo do not flee after a friend is shot, but will run to them, attempting to get them up again, grunting, circling and nudging them. Buffalo have many amazing behaviors that demonstrate that they deeply care for one another. BFC file photo by Kim Acheson. Click photo for larger image.

Update from the Field

Bull buffalo mourn a comrad shot by a hunter. Buffalo do not flee after a friend is shot, but will run to them, attempting to get them up again, grunting, circling and nudging them. Buffalo have many amazing behaviors that demonstrate that they deeply care for one another. BFC file photo by Kim Acheson. Click photo for larger image.

America's last continuously wild buffalo population numbers fewer than 4,200 individuals. Living in and around Yellowstone, they are under a tremendous amount of pressure that threatens their immediate survival and their long-term evolutionary potential. This season, over 127 wild buffalo have been gunned down by hunters along the border of Yellowstone National Park. While Montana's state hunt is finally over, some treaty hunting will continue through March. Additionally, the Montana legislature is quickly moving forward with a frenzy of devastating bills that would have very real and harmful impacts to these gentle giants. Aggravating matters, Yellowstone National Park continues to hold fast to their plans to senselessly slaughter hundreds of buffalo this year and in years to come. While Yellowstone managers admit that these are the most unique and important buffalo populations in the world, they seek to manage for the smallest numbers possible.

You and I have the power to stop this. Together our actions have made significant differences for wild buffalo. But wild bison remain ecologically extinct, truly endangered without federal listing or protection. We need to keep the pressure on, and turn it up! Everyone who reads these words has the capacity to make a difference. Please read below to learn about the ways you can help wild buffalo right now, and please help raise awareness by sharing this email with all of your friends and contacts.

Wild is the Way

America's last continuously wild buffalo population numbers fewer than 4,200 individuals. Living in and around Yellowstone, they are under a tremendous amount of pressure that threatens their immediate survival and their long-term evolutionary potential. This season, over 127 wild buffalo have been gunned down by hunters along the border of Yellowstone National Park. While Montana's state hunt is finally over, some treaty hunting will continue through March. Additionally, the Montana legislature is quickly moving forward with a frenzy of devastating bills that would have very real and harmful impacts to these gentle giants. Aggravating matters, Yellowstone National Park continues to hold fast to their plans to senselessly slaughter hundreds of buffalo this year and in years to come. While Yellowstone managers admit that these are the most unique and important buffalo populations in the world, they seek to manage for the smallest numbers possible.

You and I have the power to stop this. Together our actions have made significant differences for wild buffalo. But wild bison remain ecologically extinct, truly endangered without federal listing or protection. We need to keep the pressure on, and turn it up! Everyone who reads these words has the capacity to make a difference. Please read below to learn about the ways you can help wild buffalo right now, and please help raise awareness by sharing this email with all of your friends and contacts.

Wild is the Way ~ Roam Free!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrJE2FZTZ6Y   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7EiMjfnJV4

You can donate to the Buffalo Field Campaign and learn more about this dedicated group at: http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/media/update1213/022113.html

Signs of Spring in the Canyon

For those of you who are wondering how long this cold weather will last there are clear signs that spring is here in Sabino Canyon. The creek is flowing moderately well from snow melt on Mt Lemmon and the trees are turning that pale green that I look for as a sure sign that the worst of winter is behind us. I saw a few butterflies, mostly the tiny blue ones and although it was chilly when we started our walk from the last shuttle stop it soon became warm enough to shed our coats for our trek out of the canyon.

March will be the beginning of the hummingbird annual push northward. Black-chinned Hummingbirds show up in Arizona in March thru May and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds are likely to be seen in March or early April. Here in Tucson I have had Costa's and Black-chinned all winter and have even seen a Magnificent at my feeder a couple of times this year. There are over a dozen different hummingbirds that can be seen in this area so if you are a serious fan of the little guys it's a great place to be in springtime. At the tail end of the fall migration I was visited by a pair of Rufous Hummers and hopefully I will get to see them on their way up the California coast.
This is a great time to do a little birding here in southern Arizona as some of the winter birds are still here and migrating species are about to pass through and nest builders  are starting to return. What could be better. The hardest part at this point is deciding where to go when. There are so many great places like Sierra Vista which is the hummingbird capital of the USA and has such great spots as San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area and Ramsey Canyon to name a couple. A little further down the road is Whitewater Draw Conservation Area which is famous for it's annual visits by thousands of Sandhill Cranes. Arivaca is another great wildlife location and is one of the quietest places during the week at either Arivaca Cienega or  Arivaca Creek.

Male Northern Cardinal

 The male Northern Cardinal is one of the easiest birds to identify and even easier to spot in the wild. A year round resident in approximately 50 to 60 percent of Arizona the Cardinal is described as having a conservation status of Least Concern by the IUCN with it's population status listed as stable. The IUCN stands for International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and is widely recognized as the most comprehensive, objective global approach for evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species according to it's website. http://www.iucnredlist.org

This particular Northern cardinal was spotted at Sabino Canyon in Tucson Arizona along the creek which has a robust flow due to recent rain and snow events. I have to say that it was an unusual encounter as this bird came within a few feet of me and hung around the entire time I was at the location. It seemed not to have any fear of me and these photos were taken with a 135mm lens. I like these photos because they give a more complete picture of the coloring on male cardinals showing the dark almost black on the top of the tail and wings. I rely on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for information on birds as I find them to be easy to understand and for the most part pretty comprehensive.
Here is more information on the Northern Cardinal including vocalizations listed under the "Sounds" section: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/id

The day After the Storm

The day after it snowed off and on covering the landscape the white stuff had melted away leaving a fresh new look behind. Snow was still evident on the mountains especially at the higher elevations but even this would be short lived and by the middle of the afternoon Golden Gate Mountain pictured above was completely bare.

This photo was taken from Saguaro National Park looking west out across the valley toward Kitt Peak  which can be seen still covered in snow. The saguaro in the center of the photo has multiple arms which start to develop at around sixty-five years so I would estimate this one to be around ninety to one hundred years old.

It's especially nice to hike in Saguaro National Park West this time of year with the temperatures today in the fifties. It's a short drive from my house and the park has panoramic views and many hiking trails and a diverse compliment of plants and animals.

Kitt Peak which can be seen in the background is over fifty miles away. Route 86 which heads west towards California takes you through the Tohono O'odham reservation where the world class Kitt Peak National Observatory is located at the summit. I have visited the observatory a few times and I will tell you it's worth the trip. http://www.noao.edu/kpno/

What a difference a day makes here in the desert. In a couple of days it will push into the seventies and very soon the wildflower season will color the landscape in yellows and pinks and purples.I have to say I simply cannot wait. I have included a link to the park if you're interested in visiting the saguaros. http://www.nps.gov/sagu/index.htm

More Winter Saguaros

Here are some additional photo's that were requested by an avid plant person from Costa Mesa California. Seeing snow covered saguaro's is a rarity and you have to be quick to get out as the snow only lasts a very short time, as a matter of fact it melted away so quickly that I didn't get to shoot one whole section of the park that I had planned on visiting. It could be years before we see this again although with the climate changing so rapidly it's possible that it could become more or less frequent. I have seen photo's from the early years in Tucson and there was more snow in the past then we see these days.

It's terrific to have such a beautiful place as my backyard and I am looking forward to the spring migration and hopefully an abundant wildflower season as well.

Here is some information on how saguaros grow. http://www.nps.gov/sagu/naturescience/how-saguaros-grow.htm

Winter Comes to Tucson Arizona

Our one day long winter arrived today a little before noon and it was beautiful for about 3 hours before it melted away. No shovel necessary. The top picture is the road running through Gates Pass. If you walk through the "saddle" at the top of the picture you can end up at my house in the valley.

Scenes like this one are definitely not the norm here in the Sonoran Desert but it is certainly welcome because it almost guarantees a really good spring wildflower season this year.

Female Great-Tailed Grackle

This female Great-Tailed Grackle was with a group of males at Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson. I snapped a couple of quick shots just because it's cinnamon brown head and breast were displayed so nicely in the sunshine. I ended up really liking the shot so I thought I would share it here on my blog.

Wolves Under Attack in Lower 48

Urge U.S. Fish and Wildlife to Keep Existing Protections for Gray Wolves

Supported by: Defenders of Wildlife, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, National Parks Conservation Association, Humane Society of the United States, Center for Biological Diversity, Animal Welfare Institute, Endangered Species Coalition, Cascadia Wildlands, Predator Defense, Western Environmental Law Center, Wolf Conservation Center, and others.

Dear Colleague,
Please join us in signing the attached letter to Director Ashe of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requesting that the agency retain Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in areas where they have only just barely begun to recover, including the Pacific Northwest, California, southern Rocky Mountains and Northeast. In February, 2012, the Fish and Wildlife Service released a five year review for the wolf that recommended removing protections for gray wolves across most of the lower 48 states. The agency has since indicated that it will move forward with this action as soon as this March.
Retaining protections for wolves in the lower 48 will not impact the delisting decisions in the northern Rocky Mountains or western Great Lakes, where wolf recovery has seen considerable improvement and wolves have been removed from the endangered
list. Instead, it will retain protections for a small number of wolves on the West Coast and wolves that have slowly been moving back into historically occupied areas like the southern Rocky Mountains and Northeast.
Studies completed after the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park have found that wolves are highly beneficial to ecosystems, benefitting a host of species from fish to songbirds to pronghorn antelope. Wolves have also been a boon to the local economy as a major tourist draw.
Much can still be done to recover these incredible animals in portions of their former range that remain suitable. Action by the Fish and Wildlife Service to remove protections for lower 48 wolves is premature and we urge you to join us in sending the attached letter. If you would like to sign the letter or have any questions please contact Megan DeBates in Rep. Peter DeFazio’s office at megan.debates@mail.house.gov (5- 6416).
Sincerely,
Peter DeFazio Edward Markey Member of Congress Member of Congress