First-of-its-Kind Grazing School Will Bring Tribal Buffalo Managers, Ranchers Together
Media Contacts
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Chris Anderson
Senior Media Relations Manager, Great Plains
The Nature Conservancy
Phone: (612) 845-2744
Email: canderson@tnc.org
The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Buffalo Authority Corporation will host the first-ever buffalo grazing school August 4th to 6th for current and future Tribal herd managers and Tribal buffalo ranchers.
About two dozen participants from multiple Tribal Nations across the United States will gather at the Cheyenne River Reservation in north-central South Dakota for three days of professional development, cultural learnings, peer-to-peer discussion and field-based learning opportunities.
The first-of-its-kind Tribal Nations Buffalo Grazing School is designed to strengthen Tribal buffalo management and support the growing movement to restore buffalo to Tribal lands across the United States. Today, nearly 90 Tribal Nations manage more than 25,000 buffalo on Tribal lands.
Participants will gain practical knowledge and skills in buffalo herd management, including incorporating Indigenous knowledge, as well as buffalo health and behavior. And they will explore key topics such as food sovereignty, soil health, carrying capacity, low-stress handling, prescribed fire, cultural fire and grazing science and stewardship.
They’ll also learn to identify native plants, including forbs and native grasses, and about indicator species including prairie dogs and grassland birds.
The school will be hosted by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Buffalo Authority Corporation. Partners include Tanka Fund, the InterTribal Buffalo Council, Kansas Grazing Lands Coalition, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC).
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