Bison Thrive Along Minnesota River

A bison calf nursed (right foreground) on a sunny October afternoon at Minneopa State Park.

By JANE TURPIN MOORE Guest Contributor & Photographer

Bison are beautiful. At least that’s how those who guide their preservation within the state see it. “I love ‘em,” said Todd Dailey, assistant park supervisor at Minneopa State Park. “They’re fun to watch, and they’re fun to manage, even though they’re pretty much self-sufficient.”

Anyone can test Dailey’s perspective; a visit to view the hearty herd of

American plains bison at Minneopa State Park, located just a few miles west of Mankato off Highway 68, is readily accessible. It’s also an invitation to imagine a portion of the Minnesota River Valley as it may have appeared nearly 200 years ago, when the Dakota and other indigenous people coexisted in a beneficial symbiotic manner with the majestic animals the early white settlers came to call “buffalo” (biologists prefer the term “American plains bison” for this species). Over-hunting in subsequent decades nearly drove them to extinction. “The Dakota roots are very deep,” said Gwen Westerman in a cultural and historical commentary available to park guests on the 1610 AM radio frequency.

“It is fulfilling for me as a Dakota person to know these creatures are again living in a place they used to live freely.”

Westerman, an enrolled member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate who is a Minnesota State University Mankato professor and Minnesota’s Poet Laureate, references letters exchanged around 1840 between Dakota persons and agents that discussed buffalo hunting in the area.

“To see it in writing from Dakota people that long ago…[confirms] they were here, right here where we live, and that they were part of [my ancestors’] everyday lives,” Westerman said.

Minneopa makes a way

Dailey came on board at Minneopa State Park in 2013, when talks about reintroducing the bison to the 331-acre prairie tract along the Minnesota River were first underway.

“When I learned the purpose and goals for it—conservation of the species, and conserving the genetic purity of the American plains bison, along with prairie conservation, management and education—it made complete sense,” said Dailey, who joins with park supervisor Ashley Steevens

and other DNR staff in helping manage the local herd.

By 2015 the necessary infrastructure—fencing, signs, a year-round water supply, etc.—for bison reintroduction at the site was in place.

“We go through annual training for the humane handling of bison, and there is a highly trained team of professionals in the state who have been working with bison for a long time,” said Dailey, crediting support from staff at Blue Mounds State Park and the MinneSigns posted at the entrance to the Minneopa State Park bison range offer guidance to visitors. sota Zoo that have decades of experience with the creatures.

“Those partnerships, along with their experience and knowledge, really helped the process.”

Minneopa was tagged as an ideal site for bison reintroduction due to its bountiful prairie acreage and an existing gravel road that winds through the property to the historic Seppmann Mill.

“Having a road that allows people to get that up-close, personal experience with these magnificent animals was a selling point,” said Dailey.

Up-close and personal is a real possibility with the Minneopa herd, which currently numbers 32 bison. And this is an excellent time of year to lay eyes on the herd, Dailey recommends. “The best time to see them, in my opinion, is fall into winter,” said Dailey. “Then, the vegetation has died off, the grasses are a little shorter and they’re on the move a lot more when it’s cooler.” Although it would seem hard for such large beasts—the herd’s bull weighs an estimated 1,600 pounds—to disappear into the landscape, Dailey assures it’s true. “Believe it or not, a herd of 30 to 40 bison can get behind sumac and woody vegetation in the middle of summer, and when it’s hot they lay low and look for cooler spots to hang out,” Dailey said.

“From now into winter is the prime time for bison-viewing.”

Bison are herbivores and graze seemingly constantly, maybe as much as 12 hours each day.

To prevent overgrazing, Minneopa’s ideal herd cap is 40.

“Calves don’t eat nearly as much as adult bison, and next spring our numbers will jump

Visitors may enjoy a very up-close-and-personal view of the genetically pure American plains bison herd at Minneopa State Park. This bison walked peacefully within a few feet of a driver’s open window while walking down the road on which motorists are required to stay.

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A mother cow and her calf graze with the historic Seppmann Mill on the bluff in the background.

CONTINUED from page 7

up, with 13 to 16 calves expected, but we have a management event each fall to sort out and move them around [to the different bison preservation areas in the state],” said Dailey.

While the bison gestational period lasts nine and a half months, bison calves are typically born between late April and late June each year.

“The calves nurse and stick close to mom for about a year, but when mom is pregnant with a new calf they’ll wean and separate from her,” Daily explained.

Bison bliss

On a sunny weekday afternoon in early October, roughly a dozen cars with eager bison-watchers slowly snaked their way along Minneopa’s Bison Drive Road.

Visitors were richly rewarded with a safari-like encounter; the active herd grazed adjacent to the marked trail. They moved freely, silently and confidently among the vehicles, passing within a few feet of cars at some points. The humans quietly trained cell phone cameras on them and observed in attentive amazement.

“People are highly drawn to them,” said Dailey. “Minneopa has had a steady increase in numbers of visitors since the bison were reintroduced here in 2015.

“The interest and excitement are still here; people are genuinely concerned about these animals and like to see what they’re up to.”

Knowledgeable “Bison Ambassadors,” state park volunteers who help educate visitors about the bisons’ habits and habitat, enhance the visitor experience on weekends from Memorial Day through mid-October.

“They answer questions, show people artifacts and bison bones and direct people to a spotting scope near the mill,” said Dailey. “The ambassadors are friendly and outgoing.”

Park visitors, Dailey reports, are largely cooperative. That’s important because observing the posted rules of the bison range—primarily staying in your vehicle and not making loud noises or speeding—is vital.

“We have not had any issues with visitor injuries—our bison are pretty well-behaved—and we do what we can to educate and keep people safe, but at the end of the day it is up to the individuals to observe the rules,” said Dailey.

“Generally if someone is misbehaving we get a call to the office because the vast majority of people who visit are very protective of the animals.”

Dailey warns that bison are potentially dangerous, and if threatened they will try to protect themselves. Cows are particularly defensive of their calves.

“They’re doing their job, protecting their own, and they’ll let you know with grunts or a bluff charge if you shouldn’t be that close,” Dailey said.

The Minneopa bison range is open about 10 to 11 months of the year, closing only during the spring thaw to preserve and then prepare the road for regular use once again.

But when the range is available, be assured its popularity extends from the very young to the most senior adults.

“We get a lot of first-time visitors and a lot of lifelong visitors,” said Dailey. “There’s a wide variety of people who come, and that’s great to see because the DNR’s goal is to connect people to the outdoors and this is a perfect way to do that.

“The bison are a huge benefit to the park, and it gives us a sense of pride to know we’re managing a unit that has animals who are so loved by the public.”

Healthy cows can live from 20 to 25 years, and since Minneopa’s bison range has only been operating since 2015, park personnel haven’t witnessed much loss to date.

“Our animals are quite healthy, but if one dies, we let it decay into the earth because that’s what nature would have done,” Dailey said.

“We try to treat them as if they are in the wild, so we’d let an animal naturally decompose into the prairie.”

There’s a lot to love when it comes to educating the public about the American plains bison and its history.

“It’s about doing our part to conserve the species,” said Dailey.

“The bison are just out here being bison.”

The Bison Drive Road at Minneopa State Park, 54497 Gadwall Road, Mankato, is open Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Closed Wednesdays for maintenance.) State park visitor fees apply. For more information, call 507-386-3910 or visit https://www. dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/minneopa/bison. html. 

Freelance writer/collaborative pianist Jane Turpin Moore grew up in the Mankato area and is now based in Northfield. She blogs at timeformoore566445504.wordpress. com and fields emails at jturpinmoore@gmail.com.

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