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Bison Pastures and Prairie Dog Towns

On the Cheyenne River Buffalo Ranch, which consists of 36,000 grazing acres, the pastures are very diverse, each supporting different types of grass and foliage based on the soil or terrain conditions. 
  Bison on Prairie Pasture on the Cheyenne River Buffalo Ranch
Of course there are the flat, open, mostly treeless pastures that the Great Plains prairies are famous for, complete with nature paths that all wildlife use, including the bison. 
Bison Pasture with Nature Bison Path
There are also the rugged, rocky hillsides covered with sage and seasonal wildflowers that drop down into the river bottom, which resembles something like the African Serengeti. 
Bison Pasture Cheyenne River Buffalo Ranch
Within the high and the low grassland bison pastures of our ranch there is another whole ecosystem residing in the prairie dog towns. 
Three Praire Dogs on Praire Dog Town
Bison evolved with the prairie dogs, and they relish eating the short, clipped off grass the prairie dogs leave. They also enjoy an afternoon lounge in the dirt and can often be seen taking in a roll or a wallow.  
Bison Resting and Rolling on a Prairie Dog Town
Prairie dogs can be an awful nuisance for ranchers if the grazing range land is limited, and the stocking capacity is too much for what a landscape can hold to maintain its diversity. This, however, is not how we manage our bison pastures. We manage our prairie rangelands for all species, including the prairie dogs. 
Prairie Dog & Burrowing Owl
A prairie dog town houses and supports many other creatures, and a favorite of ours is the burrowing owl. They somehow have it figured out, and live in unison during the burrowing owls' nesting months. It's all part of the greater, connective plan.  
Prairie Dogs Greeting the Morning Light
Although prairie dogs get a bad rap, we could stand to learn a lot from them. They never take seeing each other for granted and even if they just saw each other a minute ago, they greet each other with hugs and kisses. 
Images of 3 Praire Dogs in Praire Dog Town with Bison in the Background
In the images above and below, I so enjoyed watching the prairie dogs assess the situation while the bison lounged in the background. They carefully hunted and gathered, eating along the way before running a stash back to their home. 
Images of 3 Prairie Dogs in Bison Pasture
In addition to the above mentioned burrowing owls that use prairie dog towns for their home, other species that rely on them include snakes, badgers, coyotes, fox, and rabbits. 
Cotton Tail Rabbit in Praire Dog Town
Pictured below is an adult and juvenile burrowing owl. Aren't they so cool?!
Burrowing Owls in Prairie Dog Town
Perhaps the most important species that share prairie dog towns for their home is the endangered black-footed ferret, who aid in keeping prairie dog numbers in check. 

Black Footed Ferrets, being helped by people and also in the wild
Sadly, the plague has hit areas within South Dakota and surrounding areas, putting black-footed ferrets in even more danger of becoming extinct. The good news is that there is a band of good folks, led by Travis Liveri, who are working tirelessly to administer vaccinations against the plague and distemper. They are a small group, and are way underfunded. If you would like to offer your support, you can find our more about them at Prairie Wildlife Research.  

As always, we thank you for supporting our greater mission of restoring the Great Plains prairies while improving our environment and our food supply by bringing back the bison. 
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13 comments

  • My daughter’s BFF was working in the area until the funding dried up, spraying against the plague and finally doing black-footed ferret research. Good people are doing the best they can, like you said, with very limited funds. Thanks for bringing this to wider attention, Jillian and the Wild Idea team!

    Susan
  • Jill I am also a plains person,even though I live in Florida. My soul is on the prairie and I love your company and all that it stands for. Dan is such a great model for us to follow,his history and stories always reaffirm my attachment to the plains.
    Conni borwick
  • Your understanding of the value in all critters is where we all need to be. We’re having another film event tomorrow night at the Dahl featuring the documentary THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM. Social at 6:00 – live music, free popcorn and cookies, movie at 7:00.
    Mary Deibert
  • Hi Patti. Ah, got it and no worries at all! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to clarify and shout it out one more time! Appreciate your support in every way! All my best, jill
    Jill OBrien
  • Hi Jill: I am sorry that you misunderstood my post! I am absolutely not blaming Wild Idea. You are the epitome of best practices in ranching and the regenerative model for all life on the ranch. We purchase your products regularly and recommend them to friends and family. My comments were referring to those irresponsible landowners who overgraze and do poor management and then blame the prairie dogs. I have heard many ranchers and others brag that they kill the prairie dogs, coyotes, badgers and everything else they deem “unacceptable” on their land. This is definitely NOT the practice model for Wild Idea. Thank you.
    Patti T.
  • Well done
    Prairiewind
  • Fantastic photos! So happy to see the Prairie Dogs and know that you have a colony. Didn’t know about the issues with the Black-Footed Ferrets. First of all, thank you for letting us know that they exist and especially that Travis is helping to vaccinate them. Really appreciate all that you do!!

    Rachel Makool
  • Patti – WE are NOT blaming Prairie Dogs – on the contrary we are supportive. I thought that was clear…? If not, WE ARE SUPPORTIVE OF PRAIRE DOGS! Also, as noted in the article: “We manage our prairie rangelands for all species, including the prairie dogs.”

    Santana – Our website is loaded with information on our large landscape, regenerative practices. We are also the only livestock ranch that is Regenerative Organic Certified, Organic Certified, 100% Grass-Fed Certified, Animal Welfare Certified, and Audubon Certified. I hope that is helpful. Check out the website for more detailed information! Thank you.

    Jill OBrien
  • prairie dogs are a tough sell when over grasing is the norm. long pasture and patience is key. a bit more detail on how you manage it would be appreciated. thanks
    santana tamarak
  • We live in Wyoming and manage our acreage for wildlife. The prairie dog is a keystone species which doesn’t harm the environment but helps restore damaged, overgrazed land. So sad that the prairie dog is demonized and blamed for degraded pasture land when the owners almost exclusively are responsible for the harm by overgrazing, use of pesticides and other harm to their land. In Wyoming, ideal pasture for cattle is 50 acres per cow. This is rarely followed by small producers. Stop blaming prairie dogs!
    Patti T.
  • Hi Linda. Yes, you are correct. The praire dogs have many tunnels within a town and know how to construct to stay dry! Thank you.
    Jill OBrien
  • Am I correct in reading/hearing that the prairie dog burrows and tunnels also help ensure water retention on the grasslands, i.e., rain soaks in through the tunnels and burrows. Might make for a wet home for the prairie dogs, though.

    But as always, I love your posts and photos along with Dan’s posts, too.

    Linda Clark
  • While I was reading “Bison Pastures and Prairie Dog Towns”, I thought, “This would make a wonderful children’s picture book!” Thanks so much for creating beautiful information, Jill!
    June Stuhr

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