IBMP MEETING NOTES:
Hey Folks,
Well, we survived another IBMP meeting. There was hardly anyone outside of tribes and agencies there.
There was a lot of passionate commentary from some tribal members. This is to be expected when hunters get mostly skunked, especially if the Park is capturing during that time.
Apparently Jaedin and I chose seats that were reserved for “secondaries” so APHIS asked us to move. It was really stupid. But, they have everyone neatly labeled: agencies/tribes are “primary”; staff are “seconds”, then there’s the “treaty hunt tribes,” then, finally, last and definitely least, “the public.”
Facilitator said he sent out the draft agenda 45 days ago. Only to partners. It was not available on the IBMPINFO.org website until last week.
One of the first things brought up, which had been removed from the agenda, was the Blackfeet wondering about the status of their formal request to become an IBMP partner, which they submitted in 2022. Four years later… they wanted it to be placed back on the agenda, didn’t know why it was removed or by who, and they wanted a vote TODAY. There was quite a lot of pushback from Eric Holt of the Nez Perce. He said he’d have to take it back to the tribal council, they would have to vote, then he’d bring that back. It was remarked by the Blackfeet attorney that IBMP protocol states that those at the table representing a tribe or agency are *supposed* to be able to vote for whom they represent. But, YNP pushed back, DOL pushed back, the CSKT pushed back. No one seems to know why. But that was that with that today. I spoke with the Blackfeet attorney briefly after public comments and she is confused as to why the others are not wanting to act on this.
They went through some partner reports, which were very brief:
* DOL received $50 million for a facility at MSU to do testing on brucellosis and other animal diseases
* Irvin Carlson (Blackfeet & ITBC) mentioned how Scott Bishke, former facilitator before Jennifer, would always have a slide up that says there has never once been a documented case of brucellosis transmission from wild buffalo to cattle. Where is that slide now?
* GNF: They have a directive from the Ag. Secretary to look at re-opening vacant grazing allotments in Gardiner and West. This is BAD BAD BAD.
* YNP (Geremia): Chris mentioned litigation. NABS appealing; Cottonwood – he didn’t say much; Alliance – case is proceeding. Oral arguments will be held on Nov 30; MT – case dismissed. He spoke briefly about the NOI/SEIS, which is still being worked on. It’s undergoing internal review and a draft should be available for public comment probably late-Winter.
* Nez Perce (Holt): They will be setting hunt regs on Nov. 2. Of course, they waited to see what the Park would put forth as far as capture.
* CSKT – hunt season the same (9/1 – 1/31); 265 tags so far this year. Last year was 299. And they were so very pleased to announce that the NEW SLAUGHTERHOUSE is ready for use this Winter!
* Umatilla: Hunt season 9/1-4/30. Bulls and calves only for March and April (yeah, right). They will be hosting the hunt calls this year.
* ShoBan – Hunt year-round. No change.
* Blackfeet – Same as last year
That was it for partner reports.
2026/2027 Operations Plan
*YNP/Geremia – post-calving population estimate is 5860 buffalo.
> Goal is to “remove” 25% / 1500 through capture and hunting. Quarantine, which was supposed to be such a solution to slaughter, aims to get 100 buffalo. So, 1400 dead is their goal.
> YNP is trying to maintain equal male-female ratio (this isn’t new, but WHY???); says there are more females currently
> YNP will be proactive and opportunistic with capture, even while hunting is taking place, so they can meet their population objectives (THIS is why the Nez Perce haven’t announced their season/quotas yet)
> YNP says they will be aggressive with capture during early winter but “hope more buffalo will migrate into Montana later to support harvest.”
> To keep partners (DOL) happy, they are gonna have to piss some (hunting tribes) off. How lovely.
*Nez Perce/Holt – Says trapping while they are hunting has a big impact. He stated that “adaptive management” is being ignored, but warned that the treaties are the “supreme law of the land.”
He asked Geremia if the buffalo don’t migrate out, what will the Park do? He says the tribes aren’t allowed to haze (bullshit), but the Park hazes into the trap. They want buffalo hazed into the hunt zone at Beattie Gulch.
*YNP/Geremia – “If we can’t meet [population] objectives, do we move trapping deeper in the Park?” (THIS was my first thought when Montana dropped their suit.)
> Geremia told Holt that baiting buffalo into the trap is hardly “hazing” – he mentioned the industrial hazing days of old, which, thank goddess, are finally over – BUT, more buffalo have died in West (Central herd) from hunting since year-round habitat ground was gained; Central herd continues to decline.
> Geremia said the Park is looking to expand onsite processing in the Park. How can they get treaty tribes to help them IN THE PARK?
*Shoshone-Bannock – Capture goes against treaties. Trapping is harming herd memories. Says they don’t want to lose their buffalo; there’s a scarcity of buffalo, and of salmon
> ShoBan said if Yellowstone is going to capture deeper in the Park, why can’t they hunt in the Park? Geremia warned that hunting is still illegal inside the Park.
* Wind River/Devon Old Person: He had a lot to say. Passionate. He works with Jason Baldes. Said that the hunting tradition is gone. YNP is gonna kill regardless, they don’t care what tribes say.
*CSKT/Tom McDonald – Setting aside that they are the ones who take the buffalo to slaughter…. he had some good things to say. He talked about not lining up at the Park boundary, not shooting at buffalo as soon as they step into Montana. Let them migrate into the tolerance zones. Let them express themselves on the landscape before killing. ALL hunters, state and tribal, have to agree to this if it’s going to work. (This is a version of The Honorable Harvest as written by Robin Wall Kimmerer in Braiding Sweetgrass, something I’ve brought up for years only to be left a laughing stock). Says all hunters are guilty.
*Nez Perce/Holt – Said when they go hunt around Horse Butte “the tourists and locals don’t like it” so he wants the GNF to hand out brochures to let them know what the tribes are doing.
> Wants YNP to haze half of the 1500 into the hunt zone.
In the end, there was no objection to the 26/27 Operations Plan. The IBMP operates on consensus, meaning they ALL AGREED to 25% / 1500 being taken/removed/killed.
NO tribe, NO agency considered how these decisions affect the buffalo. Food. Food. Food. Kill. Kill. Kill. Human-centric central
Public comments were next. Only three of us spoke. Jaedin, myself, and James Holt. Comments were recorded and we will make them available.
We had to leave after that, as Jaedin needed to get home in time to go to work, and the real substance had already been discussed.
It’s frustrating because there were a lot of people in the room, especially tribal members, who had a lot to say. Time should have been afforded, but they had to stick to their agenda. Maybe one day we can come together outside a meeting setting and really talk through so many of these things.
If the buffalo had been in the room, they would have left with their shaking heads held low.
We press on.
-Stephany Seay, RFN Co-founder