Bison Ranch
A hope to revitalize our sacred buffalo.
The Bison Ranch Project was initiated in response to the urgent call to restore the presence of Buffalo within the Northern Cheyenne tribe's lands. Brandon Small has taken on a crucial role at the Bison Ranch as the main caregiver and has consistently showcased outstanding dedication, along with his team, in tending to the well-being of the majestic buffalos under his watch.
“He's well-groomed and ready to take care of some business.” Image credit: Brandon Small
The Northern Cheyenne Buffalo Program has recently received a development grant from the lnterTribal Buffalo Council in the amount $74,570. The funding is being used to construct a building to house equipment and supplies for the buffalo program and create a small office space. Construction of this new building will begin soon and is expected to be completed by July 2024. The buffalo program is currently in the process of submitting a Climate Smart Markets grant application which could provide funding to install new buffalo fencing and to help implement regenerative grazing practices such as rotational grazing. The Buffalo program has also received a generous donation from the Honnold Foundation, those funds are being used to install a S0kw ground mount solar array in August of 2024 with the help from lndigenized Energy and ProtoGen. The buffalo handling facility that was constructed in 2023 will soon be supplied with enough energy to power the entire facility with enough surplus energy to expand when possible.
The Northern Cheyenne Tribe has an Environmental Quality Incentives Program contract through NRCS to install a water storage tank to supply water to multiple watering locations with 1800-gallon summer tanks and 550-gallon winter tanks. This project is expected to start in June of 2024 and be completed by October 2024 and will supply clean drinking water for all wildlife in the buffalo range in various locations. Another phase of the EQUIP contract was completed in the southern portion of the buffalo range in late 2023 and now has 2 1800-gallon summer tanks and 1 550-gallon winter tank that is being pumped from a well using a solar pumping system with an 18,000-gallon storage tank.
A small view of the herd. Image credit: Brandon Small
A view of the herd. Image credit: Brandon Small
The Buffalo Range health has recently seen improvements in forage production with the removal of over 50 feral horses. Currently the buffalo range can sustain between 217- 240 buffalo year-round. The current amount of buffalo 12 months and older in the range is 215. With the water projects and some fencing projects, the buffalo program expects to see increased range health and increase the carrying capacity of the buffalo range up to 300 buffalo. All management efforts in the buffalo range have been based around a holistic approach that includes all wildlife, plants, soil and human interactions within the range to improve the overall environment and habitat.