While I lived in the San Luis valley at the foothills of the Rockies in Colorado, I was privileged to view a herd that is, sadly enough, used for meat. The herd ranges sustainably and is culled with care and respect. Still… What I didn’t know was that a wild herd needs a huge expanse of territory like the great plains, due to its intense grazing needs.
The ‘captured’ herd I visited would have to be moved monthly as they would graze the grasses, prairie scrub and tree bark in one area down to nothing… and I mean to dust. Lots of dust in a high altitude Colorado summer. ;)
It made me wish that we could have done better as well and made me wonder whether the large herds were self-culling and self-moderating. I’m sure a bison biologist could tell us, but I have wondered ever since.
Thanks for the story.
