“Bison in your backyard”: Grazing area at Rocky Mountain Arsenal refuge to expand

 

The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge will expand its bison area to 10,300 acres from 6,500 in the next year, so for those living by the northeastern part of the refuge, bison will “basically be in your backyard,” wildlife refuge specialist Tom Ronning said.

Though some might like the idea of seeing the arsenal’s herd of 250 bison roaming the high plains near Denver International Airport, the refuge’s goal is not to increase sightings of the animals, but to improve the health of the remaining patch of prairie in the city.

The expansion is part of the Grasslands Keystone Initiative to conserve the Gre.at Plains, which have lost more than 50 million acres of grasslands in the past 10 years...

Deputy refuge manager Megan Klosterman calls bison “ecosystem engineers,” and says allowing them to roam more freely across the refuge will help native plants grow better and increase species diversity in the grasslands ecosystem.

...They evolved with the native plants, so their feeding on vegetation actually helps it grow back stronger, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service deputy director Siva Sundaresan said. The weight of their footsteps (males can weigh up to 2,000 pounds, females 1,000) mixes nutrients in the soil, and their hoofprints create wet microclimates for new plants to grow...more

Much of the refuge’s funding from the Inflation Reduction Act will go toward building 4.25 miles of fencing and cattle guards around the bison area. 

Other Inflation Reduction Act funds will go to building wells around the reserve so bison have additional water sources. Refuge officials said they have already allocated all the funds to projects but declined to give further details or cost estimates.

Do you believe that spending money on fencing, cattle guards and water wells will reduce inflation? 

I do. 

And I  also believe there are buffalo chips the size of houses floating down the Rio Grande today.  

And let’s start calling our livestock “ecosystem engineers” and I hope they are making wet “microclimates” all over your country.