In short, the Poppers argued that most of the Great Plains were not suitable for sustainable farming, that irrigation was sucking dry water resources such as those from the Ogallalla Aquifer, that the human population of the region was scarcely more dense than it had been a century earlier and that rural areas were depopulating even more. They said native prairie grasses should be planted, bison and the ecology they made possible reintroduced. Ranchers and farmers would be gradually bought out (with the option of keeping small homesteads).

To say that their view was controversial vastly understates how they were greeted, not least among farmers and ranchers whose use of cheap government grazing land would have to be shared with free-ranging bison. The typical take on this was that the bison should remain in the same category as the wolves that were once the herds' main predator: dead and gone.

But the Poppers' idea, or at least some version of it, has gained ground over the past two decades. Among those who have taken it up are 57 tribes who now participate in the InterTribal Bison Cooperative, a non-profit dedicated to restoring herds "in a manner that promotes cultural enhancement, spiritual revitalization, ecological restoration, and economic development." Currently, the ITBC counts about 15,000 animals in its herds. You can donate to the cooperative here.

In addition, there is the Great Plains Restoration Council. This organization seeks to develop leaders of ecological health among youth, including at-risk youth. The work includes restoring bison herds. You can contribute to their efforts here.

As Oke points out in the commentary below about "hazing" the 3000-animal purebred herd at Yellowstone each spring, restoring bison to parts of their old range still has plenty of foes. The ranchers fear brucellosis will spread from bison to their cattle. Even though there is no proven case this has occurred – elk, which graze the region in the tens of thousands also carry the disease – the consequences are severe. If one cow catches brucellosis, the whole herd must be killed.

As always, money could very well make a difference in this continuing stand-off. And money is something that Ted Turner has in considerable amounts. As Kim Murphy wrote in Making Wild Bison at home on the range, the billionaire owns 55,000 bison of his own.

Under an experimental program getting underway this spring, Turner is housing a quarantined test group of 87 Yellowstone bison at his ranch near Bozeman, Mont. The program, under sponsorship by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, is an attempt to see whether a brucellosis-free stock of Yellowstone bison can be nurtured, a landmark step toward repopulating the West with truly wild buffalo — not the bison mixed with cattle genes that are typical of the many fenced herds around the country. ... The 87 bison were culled disease-free from the Yellowstone herd more than four years ago. They will spend an additional five years locked away on Turner's ranch, after which he is free to take 75% of their offspring — possibly 188 new bison — to improve the genetics of his conservation herd of 1,000 wild bison in New Mexico.

Hazing the Bison at Yellowstone

By Oke

Hazing of bison herds in Yellowstone National Park, which has been going on for a decade under an Interagency Bison Management Plan, continued last week.

"Hazing" is the process of forcing bison that have wandered outside the park's boundaries back into the park through the use of helicopters, all-terrain vehicles and horseback riders. The goal is to prevent the spread of disease—mainly brucellosis— to the herds of cattle on ranches bordering the park.

Trib.com, a Casper, Wyo., publication, says that hazing may be unnecessary in some cases:

particularly in areas where cattle no longer graze

but:

[...] facing pressure from the ranching industry, Montana officials said they plan to remove all bison from public and private lands around West Yellowstone by Saturday. That's about a month before cattle will return to their summer grazing plots.

However, as reported by the Yellowstone Insider:

Bison advocates and outside experts disagree with that prognosis -- elk are much more likely to transmit the disease to cattle -- to no avail, and so the buffalo are not allowed to roam.

This year there is, at least, a delay in this process, which has been compared to a bloody ground war:

"It had a real Vietnam look to it," he [John Varley, now retired from his job as Yellowstone's chief of research] said at the time. "A lot of helicopters, a lot of rifles. After that started getting televised, I think every school in America wrote their congressmen."

The delay was caused by the weather:

Limited bison hazing operations were launched in the West Yellowstone area on May 4, but were frustrated by a spring storm. "They're always trying to fight mother nature instead of working in harmony with it," said Mike Mease with the Buffalo Field Campaign, a group opposed to the hazing. "As long as the cattle industry is still not giving an inch on their drop dead date, we're going to continue running into problems."

The local cattle ranchers are having none of this, however:

The Department of Livestock returned to a definitive May 15 deadline two years ago in response to a lawsuit filed by Yellowstone area cattle ranchers backed by the Montana Stockgrowers Association. The suit seeks to strip state and federal agencies of flexibility in deciding when bison need to be moved. It remains pending before state District Judge John Brown in Gallatin County.

Nice to know that this "needs to be done" to protect the profits of the beef industry.

Eco-Justice in the Congo

by rb137

Regulating conflict minerals as an environmental issue.

There is a war between paramilitary groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and it is centered around a corrupt mining operation. Militias compete to control the mines, and they each commit grisly acts of terror in the villages to intimidate civilians. Among the militia are the Interahamwe, the group that perpetrated the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. They set the standard for terrorism in the neighborhood.

The conflict is near Goma and Bukavu, not far from the Rwandan border. There are 20 or more militias in the region, and only the most brutal control the mines. The war persists because of the mines, as the ore buys weapons and lines warlords' pockets.

Regulating conflict minerals is an issue of concern to environmental advocates because the metals coming from the mines are used throughout green technology. The organizing theme is that the conflict is in your cell phone, but the fact is that some conflict metals are used throughout industry. Tantalum is found in camera lenses and surgical appliances, fuel cells, jet engines and industrial process instruments. It withstands high heat and corrosive environments, and it machines like a dream. It's everywhere, and this conflict will never end until we stop using the ore that comes from the DRC.

Regulating the mines in the DRC has long been a green issue because of the bushmeat trade, which is responsible for damaging the region's gorilla populations. This killing is also exacerbated by the mining; the map to the right shows that at risk populations live near the mines. Ore gets traded for bushmeat regularly, so the metals are directly connected to the gorilla deaths. The Dian Fossey Foundation was quick to criticize the illicit mineral trade, and they deserve recognition for shedding international light on the connection between the mines and the conflict.

There is growing bipartisan awareness about this metal trade in Congress, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has taken an interest in trying to regulate conflict minerals from the DRC. There are two bills currently: S.891 and HR 4128. Please call your Representative and Senators and ask them to support this important legislation.

You can learn about conflict mineral legislation and active regulation campaigns at Enough.

While you are asking your legislators to support S.891 and HR.4128, please ask congress to support The International Violence Against Women Act, HR.4594 and S.2982. Enough has a list of reasons why this bill will help.

Gorilla map taken from United Nations Environment Program website.

Holding BP Accountable

By Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse

The Obama Administration has vowed to "keep a boot on the throat" of BP until BP stops the oil gusher, cleans up the mess and pays for the claims of those who suffered loss. President Obama will need our support to ensure this is one heavy boot. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) has a petition for you to show your support to Help President Obama Hold BP Accountable.

There is also a message box should you wish to tell President Obama why you stand with him to hold BP accountable. This is an easy way for us to express our support and define accountability broadly to include: economic damages, debarment, criminal prosecution, and Clean Water Act civil fines. Moving forward with multiple penalties will also shine a public light on why we need to make this climate bill more focused on alternatives and why we need to ban offshore drilling.

Lawsuits filed by environmental groups are extremely important. Defenders of Wildlife is suing BP for violating the Endangered Species Act by harming and killing endangered species by the oil gusher and the use of dispersants. Defenders of Wildlife also filed a suit to challenge the Minerals Management Service's "continued lax oversight of oil drilling operations."

You can help keep these lawsuits coming by supporting Defenders of Wildlife with donations.

An additional action to hold BP accountable is to Tell EPA: Take away BP's billions in federal contracts: Credo action has a petition asking the EPA to "immediately take steps to impose discretionary debarment and ban BP from all future federal contracts."

Of course, BP is not the only culprit. President Obama also needs to hear from us to rescind drilling leases to stop Shell Oil from drilling in the Arctic as early as this summer: Here is an email message you can send Obama, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to stop Shell Oil from drilling in the Arctic that could devastate their coasts and kill whales, polar bears and other wildlife.

Greenpeace also has an email message: Tell Secretary Salazar to Just Say "No" to Shell's Alaska Drilling.