Yep ponder the Wild West comes alive again the last weekend of September as a hundred cowpokes try to corral 1500 wild bison in South Dakota’s annual Buffalo Roundup. It’s old and it’s new, the stuff dreams are made of. Cowboys and cowgirls on horseback flailing whips, some popping off blanks from revolvers, park rangers in trucks and a passel of tourists on a hill hoping for excitement.
Custer State Park, just outside the city named for the man whose death brought him more fame than his life, is a magnificent 74,000 acre park. The area is preserved with wonderful lakes, camping facilities, ancient log cabins, a unique lodge used as a summer White House by discerning presidents and some of the best nature trails in the world.
The park is maintained by the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department. Hospitality at the lodge and facilities is contracted to resort management companies that operate seasonally. There are horseback rides, Jeep tours, canoe and kayaking, fishing and in season licensed hunting to control deer populations. Almost everywhere a visitor looks there is wild game. Bison cross the road, lounge in the woods, roll in dusty wallows near the road.
The Park maintains a heard of about 1500 bison. The buffalo roam wild all season until roundup time. Then they must be rounded up and pushed into large holding corrals. The herd is carefully managed to enable it to use the range sustainably. In drought park managers and biologists cull the herd down. Once the buffalo are corralled they are passed through chutes where they are inoculated, checked by veterinarians, branded and sorted. Most are released back into the park. Some are selected to be sold at a buffalo auction in November.
Buyers from all over to bid on bison on the hoof. Meat buyers and ranchers vie for the limited number of buffalo culled from the herd for sale. Bison meat is lean and contains less fat and cholesterol than skinless chicken nutritionists aver, thus is a healthy alternative to beef.
The buffalo roundup starts well in advance of the public weekend. Park biologists and rangers begin to move the herds closer to the penning areas. Fences for bison must be strong, posts look something like telephone poles to keep the mighty creatures contained. Bison, that can weigh a ton or more, are so strong that they can simply push over any ordinary fence. Often enough an ornery bull knocks down even the strongest buffalo fence as well. For the most part solitary bulls are left alone by park officials. They concentrate on the herds.
Once rangers have done the preliminary work volunteer wranglers that have bid for a place in the round up show up for briefings by park authorities. Riders selected to ride in the roundup must bring their own horses and tack. Not every horse is suitable for working buffalo. Once bison herds get moving they are often unpredictable. Getting between a mother and a calf is not a safe practice.
Park officials emphasize safety. Riding a horse at a gallop is always fraught with challenges and the valleys, arroyos and hills in Custer State Park are where the buffalo roam. Park officials want the herds brought into the corrals with a minimum of stress. A lot of the buffalo in the herds have done it before and while they don’t seem to like it they go with the flow.
The buffalo roundup is a grand weekend affair. An art and craft festival, cook outs, music and programs lure thousands of tourists. It is a chance to glimpse a bit of the Old West and enjoy a sight rarely seen in the world today, herds of wild bison, their pounding hooves thundering across the prairie.
South Dakota discovery can only be accomplished a little at a time. To fully explore Custer State Park could take a lifetime. There are natural wonders and man-made spectacles nearby: Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse, the wild mustang conservancies in Hot Springs and Lantry, Harney Peak, the tallest mountain between the Pyrenees and the Rockies, ghost towns and the old mining boom town of Deadwood where gambling is still going strong.
South Dakota in the fall is one of the best kept tourist secrets on the planet. Golden leaves and red, cool winds, horses and happy trails. Make the Buffalo Roundup your destination this year. You'll have the ride of your life. This year’s roundup takes place on Friday September 26, 2014 with festivities before and after. For more information call 1-800-732-5682 or visit www.travelsd.com.
