Across the Fence
by Bill Rinehart
Roundup 2001
Roundup 2001 at The Nature Conservancy's Tallgrass Prairie Preserve officially started on October 31, 2001. On that day, work began to drive the herd from the year-round 10,486-acre bison unit into the 722-acre spring trap. Eight 4-wheel All Terrain Vehicles (ATV's) were used to bring the herd in this year. The herd was pushed north to the small traps on November 8, 2001. Pickup trucks were used to move the animals through the gates into the corral.
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Bob Hamilton, assistant director and director of science and stewardship for the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, reports that 1,536 bison were worked through the corral from November 10 through November 15. Three animals, two cows and one bull avoided the roundup. The bison herd, therefore, numbered 1,539 head at roundup time.
The only time that an accurate count can be made of the year's calf crop is at roundup. Roundup 2001 confirmed that 371 calves were born during the year. The 2001 calf crop consisted of 175 females and 196 males.
Following roundup, 51 surplus animals were sold - 17 older cows (10 bred, 7 open) 13-14 years old, 11 bulls 6-7 years old, and 23 bulls two years old. Some of the animals were sold through the preserve's sealed bid process and others were sold over the telephone. Buyers for the animals are located in Ohio, Arkansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Oklahoma.
Sales prices for the sold animals were considerably below a few years ago. Overall average was a little over $400 per head. Bred cows sold in the $350 range and open cows sold for around $250 apiece. The older bulls on the other hand averaged $736 per head. A few years ago a bred cow would bring as much as $3,000 and an open cow around $2,000. Bulls used to bring considerably less than females, but now they bring on average more than the females. Typically in the past, bulls have been the weaker link economically. Today's buyers, however, seem willing to bid higher on breeding and feeder class bulls. Seven bulls, 4 yearlings and 3 two-year olds, were purchased for genetic purposes from the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge near Valentine, NE. They were purchased from funds raised by the conservancy's Adopt-a-Bison program. Fort Niobrara, like the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma, is owned by the Federal Government and is operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Both refuges were specifically created many years ago to preserve bison, longhorn cattle, and other characteristic wildlife.
Considering that the herd numbered 1,539 head at roundup, 51 animals were sold, three purged, and seven purchased, the current over-wintering herd numbers 1,492 bison. This year's calf crop should approximate 450 head and could be more than that depending on this year's calving rate. The herd, then, likely will be approaching 2,000 head for Roundup 2002. Target summertime herd size is 3,200 head and that number should be reached in the next four to five years.
The roundup and corral working crew consisted of six preserve staff members, four local day-help cowboys, and two conservancy staff members who ran the computer on corral working days. Working the animals through the corral for their traditional health treatments consisting of vaccinations for several bovine diseases, parasite control, brucellosis vaccination of heifer calves, year branding of calves, took six working days. Hamilton says they figure on being able to work 300 animals per day through the chutes and hopes to increase that number in the future.
This year's roundup process was slowed somewhat as new state-of-the-art transponders were inserted in the ears of the animals. This meant that the old transponders had to be removed and switched with the new ones, which took some additional time. The new transponders are orange-colored, are about the size of a 50-cent piece, and may be visible in the ears of some of the animals. Hair on older bison will likely hide their new orange earrings.
In December 2001, the 10,486-acre bison unit was increased by 3,905 acres by adding contiguous pasture to the east and southeast. The year-round bison unit is now 14,391acres. Hamilton says that each year from now on, soon after roundup, the bison unit will be increased in size as additional acreage is added to it. He expects that around 3,000 acres will be added each year until the year-round bison unit reaches 30,400 acres. As the bison unit is increased, the cattle unit is correspondingly decreased in acreage. The cattle pasture, for example, was 23,756 acres during last spring and early summer when some 7,000 head of cattle were pastured on the preserve. This year, since the cattle pasture has been decreased by 3,905 acres, and because of the drought, approximately 5,170 head will pasture on the preserve during the first part of the growing season. The ultimate projected size of the cattle is 3,149 acres by year 2006.
In addition to local print and TV coverage, visitors during the roundup included an Australian film crew hired by National Geographic to shoot footage for their "Earth Pulse" show. The film crew was on-site for three days and filmed when the animals were being moved from the 722-acre spring trap and again when they were driven to the pens. This segment of "Earth Pulse" should air sometime in the spring on TV. Other scheduled visitors included a veterinary technician's class from Tulsa Community College and students from the OSU Zoology Club.
Hamilton says the roundup went smoothly this year. The crew that works the roundup is gaining more expertise each year and corral improvements have both helped to facilitate the annual health treatment process for the bison herd. Corral improvements include extending the roof over the working area, cementing the south alley that leads into the sweep tub, and adding more and larger holding pens. Each year the corral has to be enlarged to accommodate the growing bison herd. More and larger pens help remove the animals from the busy working area. The additional pens not only enhance handling and holding the animals, but also help lower their stress level during roundup.
Many improvements to the corral and the purchase of seven bison this year were made possible from funds generated by The Nature Conservancy's Adopt-a-Bison program. This program allows donors to adopt bison at $40 per animal. Their donation helps support the management of the bison herd and assists TNC in restoring and protecting the tallgrass prairie. Anyone interested in participating in this program or in knowing more about it may do so by contacting Adopt-a-Bison at The Nature Conservancy's office in Tulsa (918)585-1117; fax (918)585-2383; www.tnc.org/oklahoma.