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Show WedThursFri, March 24-26, 2004 The Park Record C-11 Volunteers keep vigil, data on bison WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. (AP) Each morning before dawn, about half of the Buffalo Field Campaigns volunteers volun-teers roll out of bunk beds in the rough log cabin that serves as headquarters a few miles north of West Yellowstone. Dressed in woolen pants, ski jackets, gators and boots, they carry bottles of warm water or coffee and two-way radios. In pairs, they drive to where bison were seen the day before near the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park, and then proceed by ski, snowshoe or on foot to a spot where they can discreetly watch the large, shaggy animals for the next six hours, documenting any action on video. Often the bison stay in almost the same spot, occasionally brushing snow off the ground with their heads and grazing on the plants underneath. "Sometimes you get a little chilly, but you never really get bored." said Stephany Seay. 33, who moved from Virginia in December to volunteer. "I've fallen fall-en in love with them." A second team takes over in the afternoon to observe the bison until after sunset, when the volunteers gather at their headquarters head-quarters to report the day's observations. obser-vations. It is through this daily vigil throughout the winter and spring, when small groups of the Yellowstone bison herd leave the park looking for new forage, the activists hope to protect the politicized animals from being killed for leaving the park. "There were once 30 million to 50 million buffalo in the United States, and now our society feels 4.000 is too many. I feel they need a voice." said Dan Brister, 34. who has been with the campaign for seven years and is now project coordinator and spokesman. The number of volunteers working fluctuates, as some people peo-ple only come for a short while. Since the group was founded in 19. it has had about 1.500 volunteers. vol-unteers. It relies on donations and grants to keep operating, and so far has always managed to pay its rent and feed its volunteers. About 310 bison have been captured so far this winter, 136 of which have been killed by federal and state agencies because they tested positive for the brucellosis-gsiag brucellosis-gsiag bacteria. Brucellosis caljses pregnant, animals to abort; and can cause severe flu-like symptoms in people. It has no cure yet. Cattle and bison infect others in their respective herds with brucellosis when they eat contaminated afterbirth or other secretions from infected females. Cattle are more likely to abort than bison, which tend to be hardier. No cattle have ever been known to be infected with brucellosis brucel-losis from bison. However, cattle ranchers dont want to take the chance that they would, and Montana's Department of Livestock doesn't want the state to lose its brucellosis-free status. A 2000 agreement with five federal and state agencies now controls how the bison are managed, man-aged, which allows them to' be hazed back into the park using snowmobiles, trucks, horses, off-road off-road vehicles and helicopters. If that fails, they arc captured and tested for brucella bacteria. Bison that test positive are killed; those that test negative are released inside the park. Starting this year, some also will receive a brucellosis vaccine. More than 400 buffalo have been killed in the past two winters. win-ters. It's the killing that drew Brister to the campaign. By monitoring and videoing the bison and regulatory agents, mostly Montana Department of Livestock workers, Brister said the campaign has made them be more discriminating about killing the animals. Dick Dolan. program director of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, which works with the Buffalo Field Campaign on some issues, said among groups that fight to protect the Yellowstone herd, it fills a valuable role. "They know what's going on, because they're there to see it," Dolan said. "It's helpful to know that there are citizens out there, not just agencies." They also have the support of some residents who live in the Horse Butte area where the buffalo buf-falo battles are waged near Yellowstone and the Gallatin National Forest. "They sec what we don't when we're at work," said Karrie Taggart, a resident who started a citizen's group to stop hazing activities in the neighborhood. "Watching the bison and doing what they do it's outstanding." Yellowstone's bison were hunted hunt-ed and poached until, by the early 1900s, only 23 were left. Not long after, some of the herd were infected with brucellosis from local cattle. With protection from the national park, bison numbers have come back now the herd is over 4,000. And as their numbers started to rise dramatically in the 1980s, some bison began seeking new sources of plants to eat in late winter and spring outside the park, which has led to the current conflict. But ultimately. Brister and the campaign say the bison need access to the lower-elevation range outside the park to stay healthy as a herd. And if the agencies were really serious about protecting the cattle from brucellosis, he said, they'd invest some of the millions spent on herding bison on fences and buying buy-ing out private ranchers to keep the two animals separated. A spokeswoman for the Montana Department of Livestock said the plan is working well, and that they don't see a need to change it. "We've maintained our hrucel-losis-free status, and this plan has maintained a viable Yellowstone bison population," said Karen Cooper. Yellowstone National Park documents say that the plan protects pro-tects the bison's wild and free-roaming free-roaming characteristics and the health of Montana cattle. After seven years of trying to change the bison's treatment through publicity and video coverage cov-erage of hazing operations, the campaign is now adding a new tactic. Members are working to get support for a House bill that would require federal agencies to make changes that would allow the bison to graze on federal land outside the park. The bill has about 60 co-sponsors so far. although it may never pass out of committee for a vote. "I hope the bipartisan bill will get people to work out something they can agree to," said Chris Mehl of the Wilderness Society, which also supports the bill. "It's more about the issue being raised than whether the bill passes or not." "It's some of the best days of your life back-to-back with the worst," Brister said. 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