Please act now. Your hand written letters, postcards, phone calls,
emails, and personal contacts with the Governor can change outcomes.HB 318 changes the legal definition of “wild” buffalo in a way that
appears to not recognize any “wild” buffalo in Montana. VETO HB 318!
HB 302 hands veto power to county officials over any state decision to reintroduce buffalo in Montana. VETO HB 302!
A century ago, buffalo owned by Pablo–Allard and Goodnight were reintroduced into Yellowstone’s northern range and reduced to captivity on the Lamar Buffalo Ranch. Yet HB 318, a bill to change the legal definition of “wild” buffalo, would not recognize a buffalo that “has never been owned by a person.”
In 2019, former Governor Steve Bullock vetoed a bill with a similar legal definition used in HB 318 because it “presents unintended consequences” for Yellowstone’s wild herds, not just individual buffalo, which “could be inappropriately deemed domestic.”
HB 302 arbitrarily gives a board of county commissioners veto power over the state’s decision to reintroduce American bison. We agree with the principle of local control for local decisions, but reintroducing American bison, a keystone wildlife species, is a state decision – one in which local communities fully participate.
Montana lawmakers already impose costly, unfunded mandates impeding restoration of wild buffalo. HB 302 further erodes and undermines Montana’s trust responsibility for recovering imperiled American bison.
Check our Buffalo Bill Tracker page for timely updates on the status of HB 318 and HB 302. Thank you for taking action for American bison our beloved National Mammal. |
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The root of this problem is ranchers, specifically cattle ranchers. Refraining from eating beef, making your doing so public, and a good boycott campaign of this evil food would be far more effective than sending pictures to a governor who is going to be swayed by this industry, whose power BTW is greatly outsized compared to the money they have.
Organize, Organize, Organize! If your belief is that the root problem is eating beef you need to join an organization that is working to refrain from that. One that is doing so publicly with boycott campaigns and other actions. If you can’t find one you like, start one. This, like most societal problems, will not be solved individually. Because as you say, the industry’s power is greatly outsized compared to the money they have.
The Buffalo Field Campaign Organization’s mission is to stop the harassment and slaughter of Yellowstone’s wild buffalo herds; protect the natural habitat of wild, free-roaming buffalo and other native wildlife; and work with all people—especially Indigenous Nations—to honor and protect the sacredness of the wild buffalo.
https://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/mission-vision-values
If that is something that aligns with your values join them. But everyone should join an organization, because organizations can form coalitions, which create movements that have the power to change the world.
I generally agree Carl. However, the U.S. left has a blind spot when it comes to personal responsibility. If people refuse to take personal actions in addition to organizing, the organizing is bound to fail. Here’s a perfect example of that: After the first Iraq war and after Bush i was out of office, some higher-up in that administration who grew a conscience and became a progressive (!) was asked, considering the massive numbers of people demonstrating against the war, why did they go ahead with it regardless. Her answer was that they don’t look at demonstrations or demonstrators, they looked at all the people buying SUVs and concluded that what the majority in the U.S. prioritized was low gas prices, not peace.
So yes, we need to organize — I belong to a very good group called Center for Biological Diversity — but we also need to take individual actions and take personal responsibility for what we do.
And BTW, I didn’t say that the root of the problem is eating beef, I said that it’s ranching and cattle grazing, and that if people ate a lot less beef or none at all, this problem would be solved. I have no opinion on whether there is a way to eat beef without doing this type of harm, although all agriculture is environmentally & ecologically harmful, and animal agriculture is by far the worst of it.
Absolutely agree people should take personal responsibility. But those of us that love the planet can not just throw up our hands and say; Oh well they just want to drive SUVs and eat beef. When people do not act responsibly, they must be made to. But this is not the case of just a few bad apples, this is systemic, institutionalized criminal behavior. As you illustrate in your quote of the higher-ups, the elites will go to war to insure cheap gas or hamburgs and they will promote them. These are problems that can not be solved using markets. Gas must be banned, cattle must be banned, industrial agriculture must be banned, mining must be banned. Mobilizing is good but it is ineffectual without organizing. “They don’t look at demonstrations or demonstrators, they looked at all the people buying SUVs”.
Jane McAlevey gives a great analysis of Mobilizing and Organizing.
https://buildingarevolutionarymovement.org/2019/07/27/mobilising-and-organising/
The Center for Biological Diversity is a very good Organization.
We basically agree on all this. We need both organizing and major systemic change, PLUS major individual behavioral change. You won’t get the former without the latter.
I have an automatic negative reaction to people who excuse bad individual behavior and claim that only the rich are to blame for everything, which was the reason for my first response. The absolute root of all these problems is the human psyche and attitude toward life, which only a tiny fraction of us rebel against.