Comfrey Jacobs explains his choice of civil disobedience against bison slaughter

 

 

BISON ACTIVIST ARRAIGNED
Comfrey Jacobs vs U.S. Government

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 11, 2014

Contacts:
Stephany Seay, Buffalo Field Campaign, 406-646-0070 or 0071
Mike Mease, Buffalo Field Campaign, 406-646-0070 or 007

 

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK: Comfrey Jacobs appeared in U.S. federal court today for his first arraignment after being arrested for blocking the road to Yellowstone National Park’s bison trap on Thursday morning, March 6, 2014. Mr. Jacobs was charged with three offenses: disorderly conduct, breaking a closure, and interfering with a government operation. He was offered a plea bargain: if he plead guilty he would be charged $1,000 in restitution, be placed on unsupervised probation for five years, and be banned from Yellowstone National Park for five years.

Mr. Jacobs did not accept the plea bargain, as he is awaiting further legal council. There will be a continuation of his arraignment on April 2, 2014. If Mr. Jacobs chooses to go to trial, he will be tried by a judge and not a jury of his peers.

The goal of Comfrey’s decision to block access to Yellowstone’s bison trap was to prevent more of America’s last wild, migratory bison — the most important bison population in the world — from being shipped to slaughter. Mr. Jacobs stalled slaughter operations for more than two hours.

Comfrey’s action demonstrated strong public opposition to the buffalo slaughter and has drawn an incredible amount of media and public attention to the issue. The day following Mr. Jacob’s blockade, Yellowstone National Park issued their only press release for this year’s controversial bison operations, announcing that the Stephens Creek bison trap was empty and Yellowstone had no further plans to capture this season.

“My action raised enough public awareness that Yellowstone announced a cease to their operations the following day,” Mr. Jacobs said.

This was the first time a citizen exercised civil disobedience at Yellowstone’s Stephens Creek bison trap. Yellowstone National Park initiates a 7-mile public access closure surrounding their Stephens Creek bison trap while highly controversial bison management activities are underway. Members of Buffalo Field Campaign were present to document and lend support.

Comfrey told Buffalo Field Campaign, “I have no regrets. I accept all the consequences of my actions and hope it raises awareness on this issue.”

Since February 7, approximately 450 wild buffalo have been captured in Yellowstone National Park’s Stephens Creek bison trap, located in the Gardiner Basin. 318 were shipped to slaughter or research facilities and some were released. Additionally, more than 270 wild bison have been killed by state and treaty hunters just outside Yellowstone’s boundary in Montana. Through hunting, slaughter and consignment to research, more than 600 of America’s last wild, migratory bison have been eliminated this year, marking a decimation of the world’s most significant bison herds.

“Comfrey Jacobs is a hero,” said BFC’s Executive Director Dan Brister. “His actions speak for thousands of people who are upset by the slaughter of America’s last wild buffalo.”

Yellowstone and its partners in the Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP) have set an arbitrary population target of 3,000-3,500 bison, yet a Yellowstone bison carrying capacity study has determined that the Park can sustain upwards of 6,200 wild bison. Additionally, there are tens of thousands of acres of public lands surrounding Yellowstone that could sustain thousands more.

“The IBMP’s population target is totally driven by politics with no basis in science,” said Stephany Seay, a BFC spokesperson. “Wild American bison are ecologically extinct throughout their native range, and while they have no federal protections they certainly warrant Endangered Species Act protections.”

The wild bison of Yellowstone are the most significant bison populations in the world, the direct descendants to the tens of millions that once thundered across North America. Wild, migratory bison are ecologically extinct throughout their historic range with fewer than 4,000 existing in and around Yellowstone. They are the only bison to hold their identity as a wildlife species. North America’s largest land mammal, wild bison are a keystone species critical to the health and integrity of grasslands and prairie ecosystems.

The zero-tolerance bison politics of Montana’s livestock industry are driving the policies that are pushing these significant herds back to the brink of extinction. This is also the first year that IBMP-affiliated tribes have signed slaughter agreements with Yellowstone, and have shipped bison to tribal slaughter facilities.

Buffalo Field Campaign is a non-profit public interest organization founded in 1997 to stop the slaughter of Yellowstone’s wild bison, protect the natural habitat of wild free-roaming bison and other native wildlife, and to work with people of all Nations to honor the sacredness of wild bison. BFC has its headquarters in West Yellowstone, Montana, and is supported by volunteers and participants around the world who value America’s native wildlife and the ecosystems upon which they depend.

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Links:

Ecorazzi: http://www.ecorazzi.com/2014/03/13/yellowstone-cancels-bison-slaughter-following-one-man-barricade/

http://yellowstoneinsider.com/2014/03/10/yellowstone-bison-slaughter-ends-protester-arrested/

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/wildlife/article_2a9fe2fc-a558-11e3-8393-001a4bcf887a.html

 

Montana Supreme Court Affirms Bison Can Roam

Foter / Public Domain Mark 1.0

Foter / Public Domain Mark 1.0

Rejects unreasonable demand to return to widespread buffalo slaughter

Helena, MT — The Montana Supreme Court affirmed the decision of a lower court today, allowing wild bison room to roam outside the northern boundary of Yellowstone National Park. The ruling upholds a February 2012 decision by state agencies to allow bison seasonal access to important winter and early spring habitat outside the north boundary of the park in the Gardiner Basin area until May 1 of each year.The ruling rebuffs demands by some livestock producers and their allies to require aggressive hazing and slaughtering of bison that enter the Gardiner Basin area from Yellowstone National Park in the winter and early spring in search of the forage they need to survive.“Today’s state Supreme Court ruling represents a victory for all those who want to see wild bison as a living part of the Montana landscape,” said Earthjustice attorney Tim Preso, who defended the bison policy in the case on behalf of the Bear Creek Council (BCC), Greater Yellowstone Coalition (GYC), and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “Now that the Court has rejected claims requiring bison to be slaughtered at the park’s boundaries, we can move forward to secure room for wild bison to roam outside of Yellowstone National Park over the long term.”

In two lawsuits filed in May 2011, the Park County Stockgrowers Association, Montana Farm Bureau Federation, and Park County, Montana, sought to block implementation of the new policy and require state officials to adhere to outdated plans for bison hazing and slaughter. Although the plaintiffs in the cases raised concerns about the potential for bison to infect cattle with brucellosis, the only two cattle ranchers operating year-round in the Gardiner Basin did not join the legal challenge.

Bison are the only native wildlife species still unnaturally confined to the political boundaries of Yellowstone National Park for any part of the year. As recently as 2008, more than 1,400 bison—about one-third of the current size of Yellowstone’s bison population—were captured and slaughtered by government agencies while leaving Yellowstone in search of food.

Bison activist charged and released

Photo © Deby Dixon

 

Comfrey Jacobs Arrested After Blocking Bison Trap Road for Over Two Hours

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK: When livestock trailers arrived to Yellowstone’s Stephens Creek bison trap this morning, they found the access road closed.

Twenty-year old Comfrey Jacobs risked his physical well-being and personal freedom by blocking the access road to Yellowstone National Park’s Stephens Creek bison trap. His goal was to prevent more of America’s last wild, migratory bison — the most important bison populations in the world — from being shipped to slaughter.

Members of Buffalo Field Campaign were present to document and lend support. Video footage and photos are available upon request.

Comfrey’s action stalled transport to slaughter operations for more than two hours. Baffled for some time, Park Service employees eventually brought out a front-end loader and moved Comfrey and his blockade off of the road. The stalled livestock trailers then entered the road and headed to the trap to load wild bison for transport to slaughter. Comfrey was still locked into his concrete-filled 55-gallon barrel when three trailers, now full of America’s last wild buffalo, left.

Around 10am, a welder released Mr. Jacobs and he was then arrested and taken into custody by the Park Service. Mr. Jacobs was taken to Yellowstone’s jail in Mammoth and later released. He has been charged with disorderly conduct, breaking the Stephens Creek closure, and interfering with a government operation.

Comfrey told Buffalo Field Campaign, “I have no regrets. I accept all the consequences of my actions and hope it raises awareness on this issue.”

While Comfrey’s action may not have stopped buffalo from going to slaughter today, he was able to demonstrate strong public opposition to it, and has drawn an incredible amount of attention to the issue.

This is the first time a citizen has exercised civil disobedience at Yellowstone’s Stephens Creek bison trap.

Since February 7, approximately 450 wild buffalo have been captured in Yellowstone National Park’s Stephens Creek bison trap, located in the Gardiner Basin. Most of the buffalo have been and will be shipped to slaughter, while some are going to government research facilities. Nearly 320 bison have been shipped to slaughter and 250 more have been killed by hunters.

Yellowstone National Park initiates a 7-mile public access closure surrounding their Stephens Creek bison trap while highly controversial bison management activities are underway. Yellowstone National Park has also been uncharacteristically secretive this year: Superintendent Dan Wenk is the first Yellowstone superintendent to prevent his staff from disclosing information to the public. After Buffalo Field Campaign patrols saw the livestock trailers leave the Park, they called Yellowstone’s public information officer, who said no information would be provided until Monday.

“I have been calling Yellowstone officials on a daily basis, multiple times a day and I’m getting very frustrated with this dishonorable lack of transparency,” said a BFC spokesperson Stephany Seay. “Yellowstone officials have told us they know exactly the information we are looking for, but are unwisely choosing to make the public and the media wait.”

Wild bison are currently managed under the highly controversial state, federal and tribal Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP), which is heavily influenced by Montana’s livestock industry. American citizens and others world-wide have have largely opposed all the actions carried out under the IBMP, but concerns for the buffalo have been ignored. Under the IBMP, more than 4,650 wild bison have been senselessly killed or otherwise eliminated from these last wild populations.

The wild bison of Yellowstone are the most significant bison populations in the world, the direct descendants to the tens of millions that once thundered across North America. Wild, migratory bison are ecologically extinct throughout their historic range with fewer than 4,200 existing in and around Yellowstone. They the only bison to hold their identity as a wildlife species. North America’s largest land mammal, wild bison are a keystone species critical to the health and integrity of grasslands and prairie ecosystems.

The zero-tolerance bison politics of Montana’s livestock industry are driving the policies that are pushing these significant herds back to the brink of extinction. This is also the first year that IBMP-affiliated tribes have signed slaughter agreements with Yellowstone, and are shipping bison to tribal slaughter facilities.

“We need to attack Montana’s intolerance and the IBMP, not the buffalo,” said BFC co-founder Mike Mease.

Yellowstone and its IBMP partners have set an arbitrary population target of 3,000-3,500 bison, yet a Yellowstone bison carrying capacity study has determined that the Park can sustain upwards of 6,200 wild bison. Additionally, there are tens of thousands of acres of public lands surrounding Yellowstone that could sustain thousands more.

“I believe year-round habitat in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and Montana is the solution for wild bison population management, not genetically damaging and limiting the herds through slaughter or constant harassment and abuse through hazing operations,” Jacobs said.

“Comfrey Jacobs is a hero to a whole lot of people,” said BFC’s Executive Director Dan Brister. “He has given hope and inspiration to thousand of people who are upset by the slaughter of America’s last wild buffalo.”

More information: http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/

Contacts:
Stephany Seay, Buffalo Field Campaign, 406-646-0070 or 0071
Mike Mease, Buffalo Field Campaign, 406-640-0109

 

Photo © Deby Dixon

Photo © Deby Dixon

Citizen blocks road to Yellowstone bison trap

Foter / Public Domain Mark 1.0

Foter / Public Domain Mark 1.0

 

Citizen Sacrifices Self to Draw Attention to, and Stop Wild Bison Slaughter

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, GARDINER BASIN, MT:  This morning, Comfrey Jacobs, a twenty-year old citizen concerned for wild bison, placed life, limb and freedom on the line by blocking the access road to Yellowstone National Park’s Stephens Creek bison trap in hopes of preventing more of America’s last wild, migratory bison — the most important bison populations in the world — from being shipped to slaughter.

To date, approximately 450 wild buffalo have been captured in Yellowstone National Park’s Stephens Creek bison trap, located in the Gardiner Basin.  Most of the buffalo have been and will be shipped to slaughter, while some are going to government research facilities.  To date, more than 200 bison have been shipped to slaughter and 250 more have been killed by hunters.

Mr. Jacobs spent a number of week’s in the Gardiner Basin, where bison capture and slaughter operations and intense hunting have been taking place.

“During my time in Gardiner,” said Jacobs, “I was feeling helpless as I watched wild buffalo lured and trapped, fed hay like livestock, tortured with sorting and testing, and eventually crammed into livestock trailers headed for slaughter facilities, while simultaneously bison were being hunted just outside the Park boundary.”

Jacobs blocked the road to prevent livestock trailers from accessing the trap before more wild bison could be loaded onto trailers destined for slaughter facilities.  He handcuffed himself to a hunter orange 55-gallon barrel filled with concrete, and wire-mesh webbing spanning the entrance to the roadway, which is closed to public access.

“My goal is to stop these trailers from getting to the trap so they cannot load more bison and transport them to slaughter,” Jacobs said.  “My intent is to not unduly cause these buffalo any more stress or harm than they are currently being subjected to in the trap, and to ultimately get Yellowstone to set them free.”

This is the first time a citizen has exercised civil disobedience at Yellowstone’s Stephens Creek bison trap.  Yellowstone National Park initiates a 7-mile public access closure surrounding their Stephens Creek bison trap while highly controversial bison management activities are underway.

Jacobs state that, “Yellowstone National Park’s public access closure around the Stephens Creek facility is an obscene and blatantly unconstitutional limitation of public oversight and accountability of our government agencies during bison management actions.”

Mr. Jacobs, Buffalo Field Campaign, other organizations and media outlets have requested numerous times that Yellowstone conduct media tours of the facility, but these requests have been ignored.  Thousands of people have written and called Yellowstone urging them to cease capture and slaughter operations.  Yellowstone National Park has also been extremely secretive:  Superintendent Dan Wenk is the first Yellowstone superintendent to prevent his staff from disclosing information to the public.  Yellowstone has not issued a single press release during this year’s capture and slaughter operations, and they are refusing to tell the public how many wild bison they have captured so far, and are only giving delayed information on the number, age and sex of bison that have already been transported to slaughter.

Jacobs said he is aware of the repercussions of his actions, bur felt strongly that he needed to draw attention to what Yellowstone National Park is doing so that they are held accountable for their direct participation in bison mismanagement, which has lead to the decimation of America’s last wild bison populations.

“I have taken these drastic actions because I feel it is my civil duty as an American citizen to protect this national treasure,” Jacobs said.  “The National Park Service has neglected their duty as stewards, to respect public interests and preserve and protect the entirety of the Yellowstone ecosystem.  I’m giving up some of my freedoms in hopes of re-establishing a free-roaming heard of bufflo in their traditional habitat.”

Comfrey Jacobs’s blockade included banners with the messages “Hunters for Bison Habitat,” and “Road Closed.”  Jacobs also included a list of demands for Yellowstone National Park:
1.  The immediate halt to all current and future capture and slaughter management actions and the release of all currently captive buffalo.
2.  Yellowstone National Park’s withdrawal from the Interagency Bison Management Plan, due to its ineffectiveness in maintaining a wild, free-roaming bison population and not meeting the public’s, or the buffalo’s best interests.
3.  So long as the Stephens Creek facility continues to be used to capture, torture and ship wild bison to slaughter and research facilities, there needs to be public oversight and media access at all times, to keep the Park Service accountable for its actions.

Wild bison are currently managed under the highly controversial state, federal and tribal Interagency Bison Management Plan, which is heavily influenced by Montana’s livestock industry.  The IBMP allows for hazing (chasing) of bison out for their native Montana, a lengthy late-season harvest, and capture for slaughter and research.  American citizens and others world-wide have have largely opposed all the actions carried out under the IBMP.  IBMP-affiliated tribal partners, including the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes (CSKT), the InterTribal Buffalo Council (ITBC), and the Nez Perce tribe have signed slaughter agreements with Yellowstone.  The CKST and ITBC have been actively shipping wild bison from Yellowstone to tribal slaughter facilities.  USDA-Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service is taking wild bison from Yellowstone’s trap to research facilities to use them in experiments with the chemical pesticide birth control GonaCon.  Under the IBMP, more than 4,650 wild bison have been senselessly killed or otherwise eliminated from these last wild populations.

The wild bison of Yellowstone are the most significant bison populations in the world, the last continuously wild bison to exist in their native habitat since prehistoric times.  They are the direct descendants to the tens of millions that once thundered across North America.  Currently, wild, migratory bison are ecologically extinct throughout their historic range with fewer than 4,200 existing in and around Yellowstone and, temporarily, in Montana.  They are free of cattle genes and the only bison to hold their identity as a wildlife species.  North America’s largest land mammal, wild bison are a keystone species critical to the health and integrity of grasslands and prairie ecosystems.

The zero-tolerance bison politics of Montana’s livestock industry are driving the policies that are pushing these significant herds back to the brink of extinction.

Yellowstone and its IBMP partners have set an arbitrary population target of 3,000-3,500 bison, yet a Yellowstone bison carrying capacity study has determined that the Park can sustain upwards of 6,200 wild bison.  Additionally, there are tens of thousands of acres of public lands surrounding Yellowstone that could sustain thousands more.

“I belive year-round habitat in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and Montana is the solution for wild bison population management, not genetically damaging and limiting the herds through slaughter or constant harassment and abuse through hazing operations,” Jacobs said.

“We would like to thank Comfrey Jacobs for taking an action that our organization cannot,”  said Stephany Seay, a spokesperson for Buffalo Field Campaign.  “We have always strongly opposed the slaughter and abuse of wild buffalo and applaud non-violent civil disobedience when other means of public participation have been exhausted and ignored.  BFC shares Mr. Jacobs’ goals for wild, migratory buffalo populations that are respected and valued as native wildlife and free to roam and flourish beyond Yellowstone’s borders, in Montana, and beyond.  We hope his courageous actions inspire other patriotic Americans to stand up tor this iconic and important National Treasure.”

Video and still footage available upon request.

Buffalo Field Campaign is a non-profit public interest organization founded in 1997 to stop the slaughter of Yellowstone’s wild bison, protect the natural habitat of wild free-roaming bison and other native wildlife, and to work with people of all Nations to honor the sacredness of wild bison.  BFC has its headquarters in West Yellowstone, Montana, and is supported by volunteers and participants around the world who value America’s native wildlife and the ecosystems upon which they depend.

For more information visit Buffalo Field Campaign on the web http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org

Contacts:
Stephany Seay, Buffalo Field Campaign, 406-646-0071
Mike Mease, Buffalo Field Campaign, 406-640-0109