Contributing Writer
Photos by Garry Brandenburg Bison are one of North America’s biggest and charismatic creatures of our prairie grassland heritage.It is hard to imagine the vast herds estimated to once be over 50 million animals scattered across the grassland prairies of our lower 48 states. But they did exist once upon a time..until settlement moved west and eliminated many of these mammals. Thanks to far a few far sighted people, remnant herds became the focus for conservation efforts. My images today feature a small portion of a bison herd at Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge near Valentine, Nebraska. At their visitor center, a replica skull with long horn cores is on display for the extinct giant bison, Bison latifrons. And for comparison, at Green Castle is our modern day bison that local folks can go see.
The annual bison auction at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area is underway but is being held virtually this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The U.S. Forest Service holds the auction every year to reduce the size of bison herds in LBL.
LBL officials say prospective bidders can access the auction and view preliminary details regarding the age, sex, and weight of each bison to be sold by visiting a link provided in this story on our websites. Prospective bidders can access the auction and view preliminary details regarding the age, sex, and weight of each bison to be sold by visiting http://www.bison.gesture.com/ . They add bidders are urged to view the photos, videos, and information provided on the auction website by clicking here. as there will be no on-site previewing of the animals.
The United States Forest Service announced Friday that it will hold a virtual bison auction beginning Saturday at Land Between the Lakes. The auction is an attempt to reduce the