When: Friday, May 15, 3 PM

Where: Gallatin National Forest Bozeman District offices at 3710 Fallon Street (map) At 3:20, we will carpool to the Federal Building at 10 W. Babcock. If you want to meet us there, that's where the protest will begin in earnest.

Who: Buffalo Field Campaign (with help from Buffalo Allies of Bozeman)

What: A rally against the US Forest Service, who on their lands allow Montana's Department of Livestock, to operate a buffalo trap, allow helicopters to haze wild buffalo - including newborn calves and other wildlife caught in the hazing operations - and tolerate no bison on Gallatin National Forest lands west of Yellowstone after May 15.

Why: Over more than a decade, wild buffalo migrating into their natural habitat in Montana and into natural calving grounds have been persecuted relentlessly by the state of Montana, especially by the livestock industry's arm of the government - the Montana Department of Livestock (DOL). Many bison have been shipped to slaughter; many others have been hazed - forcibly pushed far back inside Yellowstone National Park. Many of these activities have been on public lands belonging to the Gallatin National Forest (though not all - DOL agents have repeatedly hazed buffalo from private lands even when those owners wanted buffalo on their lands). The US Forest Service has become complicit in the mistreatment of wild buffalo by joining as a partner in the Interagency Bison Management Plan, which authorizes the slaughter and hazing of bison. Doing their part, they have given permission to the DOL to set up traps at Horse Butte, enforce the arbitrary boundary lines of the IBMP by all sorts of means - including the use of helicopters, and by allowing DOL agents to rid Montana of wild buffalo after arbitrary dates (West of Yellowstone after May 15). Bison regularly use the Horse Butte peninsula - a peninsula without a single cow - for spring calving; yet, these bison are still subject to mistreatment.

The US Forest Service, especially supervisor Mary Erickson, has the power to stop this. Mary could insist that bison have year round habitat at Horse Butte and deny the DOL permits for hazing and trapping on the peninsula. She could deny the use of helicopters. She could, as a partner in the Interagency Bison Management Plan, insist that US Forest Service participation in bison management respect wildlife first - including bison - over the fanatical aims of the livestock industry to keep wild buffalo out of Montana (even where no conflicts exist).

What to bring: Besides yourselves and your friends, bring signs. Those attending the rally are also encouraged to wear costumes - not only of buffalo but of their favorite wildlife species (indeed, the hazing of buffalo isn't just of buffalo - this year, even a grizzly was caught up in a hazing operation.)