SWST Fish & Wildlife Program
Alvah Quinn, a member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate in South Dakota is currently the Fish and Wildlife Director as well as the Land Operations Manager, Realty Director and he also manages the Cooperative Extension Program. He carries with him a total of 27+ years of experience. Alvah wears many hats and thanks to him we have a very successful bison program.
One of the most looked forward times of working in this program is the annual round up of the herd of 434+. We worked the herd in March, 2006. Of 170 cows 83 percent were pregnant which is up from the year before of 72.5 percent. Our oldest animal is an 18 year old cow which was one of the pregnant animals. This year the herd received new microchips in addition to their ear tags. The microchips are scanned during the round up which tells the details on each animal.
One of our grants received from ITBC was to do a DNA GENO-TYPING Study. With the test results we found that we had eight bison that exhibited less than 100 percent bison blood. There fore the eight animals were or will be culled and used for traditional ceremonies, powwows, Elderly Program, Wellness Center, etc. Also we had to test all calves the following year. It will take at least 3 – 5 years before we have a 100% pure bison herd. Another grant received was used to do marbling testing which tells the tenderness of each animal.
One of the other exciting times is rotating the herd every 6 weeks between four different pastures. Both of these events take a lot of team work. Thanks to our great staff and temporary hired workers the events are a great success with no serious injuries.
We take great pride in providing seed and/or replacement bison to other members of the ITBC. This past year we provided a breeding bull to the Ute Tribe in Colorado. We had others scheduled to be transferred but did not turn out. "Sitting on the Board of Directors for the Inter-Tribal Bison Cooperative has been a great and rewarding experience" says Mr. Quinn.
By: Berdette Zastrow
When you think buffalo, you generally think of Custer State Park or Yellowstone Park. Last winter I had a wonderful adventure with buffalo almost at my front door. Stampeding buffalo, flying snow, the drone of snowmobiles and ATVs were all part of the action when the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate rounded up their buffalo herd on the tribe's ranch south of Enemy Swim Lake.
It was -8 degrees when I arrived at the ranch and jumped into Wildlife Ranger Kent Miller's pickup. He explained the upcoming procedure and told me I could sit in his Wildlife Ranger sister Charlene's SUV, already parked in the buffalo pasture. "It will be too rough out here with me," Kent said. "Charlene will stay parked and you can take pictures when the buffalo go through the gate to the corrals."
He underestimated Charlene. As soon as I slammed my door shut, we took off. Two snowmobiles, two ATVs and five pickups took strategic positions to get the main herd of 441 started through the appropriate gates.
Charlene and I parked near a large opening to direct the huge animals through it and on to the next pasture. Sitting 40 yards from stampeding buffalo, their hooves kicking up clouds of snow in front of us as they tore through the huge pasture, makes a person forget the cold, in fact, it makes a person forget everything. This was pure excitement and fun.
The Custer State Park annual buffalo roundup was great years ago when we drove the buffalo seven miles through the park to the corrals. I thought I'd never see that kind of excitement again, but here it was.
The entire experience was hair-raising. The herd divided into small groups and we got 20-30 of them into the corrals at a time. Typical buffalo behavior, they'd get near the corral, and then head for the open part of the big fence they previously bulldozed through or thundered under, or find a corner opening. Vehicles roared across the prairie, trying to head buffalo off, but some always escaped. Then, the action would start all over again.
Since the Custer State Park days, I've always greatly respected buffalo and have never taken them for granted. They are extremely fast and turn on a dime. If they are running 40 mph in one direction, they can turn in a split second and run the opposite way.
I also respected the guys on the snowmobiles and ATVs. They had their lives in their own hands as they flew over rocks and snow drifts. The entire situation was dangerous because you never knew what was coming at you over the next hill. It could be speeding buffalo or another vehicle. One of the guys on a snowmobile "laid it down" on a sharp curve trying to turn running buffalo. He righted the sled and was trying to start it, all the while watching buffalo running toward him. A pickup driver saw what was happening and drove between the snowmobile driver and the buffalo, turning the beasts.
Stacey Miller, SWO herdsman, herded with a snowmobile and provided comic relief. His large black moustache was frozen and decorated with icicles.
Tom Jones, NRCS Tribal Liaison from Britton, pulled up to us and said, "This sure is different than chasing cows." Jones works with the five tribes in South Dakota, delivering USDA programs to them.
The entire morning was full of running buffalo, some trying to outrun pickups, which a couple of them did.
The second part of the buffalo job was to later work them. That was also a rodeo. Alvah Quinn, tribal Wildlife Director, generously invited me to join them again as they drove the buffalo from outside, through sorting areas and ultimately through the chutes.
I joined Wildlife Ranger Kent Miller on a platform overlooking a pen and a sorting/pushing tub used for guiding critters into the chutes. Workers outside in a lot drove buffalo inside the barn to the first pen where they snorted steam, licked their nostrils, pawed the dirt and tails were straight up. From there they walked, or ran, into the last pen and to the "squeeze" tub to be guided into the chute.
Joe Kohl was in charge of a skid steer loader with a large corral gate attached to the front. When the tub was empty and Joe started moving, several critters were guided into the tub area. That is where the fun started because buffalo didn't want to go there. Joe was in a dangerous position when some temperamental cows stampeded back out of the tub. They were so mad they ran right into the corral gate, bending the side back. More than once, Joe's eyes were startling as a buffalo attacked the loader and tipped it backwards and rocked it a bit. Watching this certainly was not for the faint of heart.
During lunch, Danny White described how he held a buffalo's head when it was in the head chute. White is a rodeo bull rider, possesses quite a humorous personality and I didn't believe him for a minute. After lunch, I took my appointed place beside the head chute, standing BEHIND the fence and beside Miller's sister, Karena. Some bulls weighed 1,620 to over 1,800 pounds and didn't like the head chute, so there was plenty of close-up and personal action.
Before they started, Quinn showed me the crash cage in front of the head chute. Attached to it were one large and one small tire, fastened with heavy canvas. That helped alleviate buffalo from hurting their heads when they smashed into it after their run through the chutes. When Quinn pulled the head gate shut on the critter, the crash cage would swung open and the vet could began her work.
Suddenly, crashing, banging racket began. A buffalo was on the way to the head chute. To my amazement, White stood right in front of the crash cage and didn't even jump when the buffalo charged and crashed his head on the tires, right in front of White's face. He laughed and yelled, "I love the rush!"
White DID hold the heads. When the head chute was closed, he opened the crash cage and grabbed the horns, pulling the bison head to the side to better allow the vet to work. I've never seen anyone enjoy his work so much. He laughed and joked through the procedure, as did all the other 20 guys.
Dr. Paula Heinje and her husband, Bryce, of Brown Valley, Minnesota, were in charge of all blood tests. "We have a few bison containing beef blood," Quinn said. "We DNA test the entire 2006 calf crop and will cull the ones with any beef blood. Our goal is to have a pure 100% bison herd in two to three years."
The herd was digitally weighed, wormed and checked for tenderness and marbling. Heifers were Bangs vaccinated and tattooed on the ear with a state seal to identify it forever. Twenty animals were T.B tested and adult cows were pregnancy tested.
Barry Betts, Chamberlain, is the herd biologist. He used new ear tag microchips this year, implanted in the back part of the ear under the skin. The buttons, RFID, (radio frequency identification) transfer an animal number to a personal digital tag reader operated by Betts.
Thirty-five bison were on the cull list. They are reserved for tribal use such as pow-wows and other ceremonies. Remaining culls include 10 bull calves destined for Fort Hall Tribe in Idaho. "That tribe is getting started raising buffalo," Betts said. "They want to start with our calves."
Three adult cows will supplement the Winnebago Tribe in Nebraska, and one five-year-old bull will live at the Southern Ute Tribe in Colorado.
Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate originated the herd in 1992 with 16 heifers and 24 bulls. The herd has built to 441 today. "Ours was the first buffalo project in the country," Quinn said. "Other tribes come here to learn from us."
Quinn discussed bison's social structure. The herd tends to gather in small groups, or sub-clans, and live that way. "This is just like Indian tribes," he said. "There is a great kinship between them. Years ago when millions of bison roamed the plains, the structure was the same."
Another interesting point is that bison, like reindeer, can control labor activation. When cows are ready to calve during a storm, they will wait until after the storm. They may also walk into the storm as they will eventually walk out of it and will calve at that time.
"We cannot underestimate the work and expense of working these bison," Quinn said. "The cost of the equipment, the danger, the hard work and stress on the animals all comes into play."
All the workers deserve credit for making a dangerous and tough job a fun outdoor adventure.
Alvah Quinn
Fish & Wildlife Program
605-698-3911 Ext. 213
Copyright © 2010 InterTribal Bison Cooperative