On the Prairie
A Buffalo Love Story
A few years back, when we moved our buffalo to their winter pasture on the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, we left seven behind.
Buffalo Composting 101
Anyone who’s traveled across the Great Plains has seen the vast spaces housing various forms of energy that make up native plants and fauna. Here, plants and organisms have endured hundreds of thousands of years of evolution and developed their own way to utilize the prairie’s sole source of energy, the sun.
Prairie Grassland Birds
Bird watching is a favorite pastime on the ranch, not just for those that live here, but also for those that visit. The old cottonwoods that canopy the house are perfect for nest builders and cavity dwellers.
How Four Ross Students Found Community on the Prairie
After spending our first two weeks in the urban centers of Detroit and Chicago, we knew week three in Rapid City, South Dakota would definitely be a different experience. But the reality of just how different didn’t begin to sink in until we passed through Badlands National Park.
Wild Horses and the American Spirit
The “wild” horses of the American Great Plains are not truly wild. In reality they are feral horses – domestic horses that were released or escaped from captivity and are surviving on their own. It is true that the distant ancestors of the horse probably evolved on this continent, but they were closer to the size of a big cat and unrecognizable as horses.
Wild Means Wild
In about a week we will start gathering the buffalo off the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands (their winter pasture) and bring them back across the Cheyenne River to their summer pasture. It will also be the first time that I have been among them since my accident, almost two months ago.
Predator-Friendly Prairie Landlords
Many people say they love nature, but as Dan often says, “people like nature when it doesn’t smell, poop, or bite”. For consumers who love nature and vote for nature with their mouths, and who look for companies like Wild Idea Buffalo Co. that offer a great meat by-product, through sustainable conservation, we have your back on all the elements of nature.
Winter Grazing
It has been a full-blown winter here on the prairie. Since our first snowstorm in early December the snow has continued and the cold temperatures have remained persistent.
Memories of Spotlighting Ferrets
Last fall I got a call from Travis Livieri, a Black-Footed Ferret expert and the founder of The Prairie Wildlife Research Foundation. He was going to be in the Conata Basin area of the Badlands National Park doing research on Black-Footed Ferrets and wanted to know if I wanted to tag along for a night of spotlighting.
