Land of Big Skies, Rolling Prairies, and Cattle
Post by Clemson Montana Summer Program student Trisha Markus
I am currently in Montana. Land of big skies, rolling prairies, and cattle. I really did not know what to expect coming here. I knew that there would be less trees, lots of grass and I’ve heard stories of its beauty. And it is BEAUTIFUL! I am so happy to have the opportunity to come here. To see the prairie and to be taught by the professors that have taken time out of their schedules or their summer break to teach us about this beautiful world. So far we have had to pleasure to be taught by Dr. Patrick McMillan and his son, a grad student at Clemson, Nick McMillan. They are so passionate about the prairie and what it has to offer that it is infections. Dr. McMillan is a very talented man! He can spit out bird names from their calls at the drop of a hat, as well as common and scientific names of the flora. I have aspirations of being able to do that. I have a lot of work ahead of me, but it will be well worth it. The McMillan’s have taught us a lot about what the prairie natural state prior to cattle ranching and farming. They taught us about how this biome came about and the importance of the native wildlife. But with the importance of the wildlife, there is conflict between the wildlife and the local folks of the Great Plains.
Prairie dogs are despised in the west, they have been propagated to ranchers by the United States government as competitors for grasses and destroyers of the land. There are still, to this day, federal funding to poison prairie dogs. My tax money is going to destroy animals that have been wrongfully accused of destroying the lands that they have evolved with. Ranchers hate prairie dogs because they believe that they are taking all of the nutrients from their cattle. Prairie dogs keep the grasses around their burrows short to better see their predators. They are also very social creatures and their habitat is like a large town that can spread across the landscape for miles. We have seen prairie dog towns that are not so pretty with scares grass. These towns are formed from them being pushed by ranchers into lands that are too high in saline for grasses to grow. I have also seen towns that are green as far as my eyes can see. We have learned that the prairie dogs do a service for the animals that come and eat the grasses at prairie dog towns. The grass is always green from the prairie dogs munching on them. Where the prairie dogs do not munch, the grass is tall and dries out from the heat. The dried dead matter does not have as high nutritional matter as the grasses that are lush and green on the prairie dog towns. Quality over quantity. Along with lush green grasses, the prairie dogs do a service to the plants from their burrowing. Allowing for soil nutrients that have been leeched to deeper horizons to be stirred back into the upper horizons. This allows plants to get nutrients they otherwise would have had to do without.
Bison are also important for the prairie ecosystem. They have been seen as animals that pack the soil by staying in tight herds and wallowing on the ground. But they put back into the ecosystem what they take out with good nutrient rich dung. They fertilize the prairie with their dung and urine. Their wallowing creates impressions in the ground that collect water when it rains. These water filled impressions allow for the animals in this aired land access to watering holes far from the nearest river or lake. These impressions also allow migratory birds’ sanctuary for food and water on their long journeys from north to south or south to north. The native animals of the North American Prairie belong here. They belong here more than the humans who have defaced the land and have tried to drive them out.
We started off our trip with a camping trip for a few days on the American Prairie Reserve (APR). The APR is a great project, they are returning the range land back to the prairie dogs and bison. They are giving these animals the opportunity to survive and hopefully restore their populations with little to no human aide. APR is struggling with the locals around the reserve to understand the importance the native animals have on the prairie. The argument is that the cattle is just like a bison and can rightfully take its place and the prairie dogs are a menace and should be destroyed. But we have learned that bison is an important part of the ecosystem. The APR’s goal is not just to bring bison back to the prairie. They know, through research and from history that a health prairie ecosystem is not going to be healthy without bison. The prairie evolved with bison and prairie dogs. Without them, the prairie may as well disappear.
It is hard not to notice the “Don’t Buffalo Me” signs as we drive in and out of APR. The locals do not want APR here. They do not want refuges, monuments, or wildlife. For me, this is hard to understand, and I expect that. I did not grow up on a ranch or in the west. I grew up in Akron, OH and had to deal with my own struggles growing up in poverty. But as I have grown older, along with the education that I am receiving at Clemson, I am struggling with seeing how the people in this stunning place do not want wildlife refuges and have called bison unnatural. I want to say it might be from a lack of education on the evolution of the prairie or they just do not want to hear the fact that what they are doing is going to cause this place to disappear. Do they care? Of course they do, they live and breathe the prairie. Why would they want to destroy their lively hood, their family, and their prairie? I have thought about putting myself in their shoes. I do see that they lively hood is being threatened. Their land, their cattle, their source of income. But the research seems to have been done, practices are already in place to manage ranching in a way that benefits the farmer and the wildlife. Their maybe more work that goes into it, it might be a little more costly, but in the long term you are able to keep on to your traditions and still have the prairie be in a health state; would that not be more important than hate an animal that has been wrongfully accused of destroying the land?
I still have a lot to learn in this lab. Right now I feel very naive for wanting everything to work out in perfect harmony. But this comes with learning. An opinion will be formed, it might be by the end of the lab or by the time I graduate with my bachelors. The next lessons we have in store for us relate to animal health. A stepping stone in the lessons of Prairie Ecology. For now, I am going to sit back and enjoy my time here. Enjoy the big skies, rolling prairie, and the wildlife around High Meadows ranch.
I am currently in Montana. Land of big skies, rolling prairies, and cattle. I really did not know what to expect coming here. I knew that there would be less trees, lots of grass and I’ve heard stories of its beauty. And it is BEAUTIFUL! I am so happy to have the opportunity to come here. To see the prairie and to be taught by the professors that have taken time out of their schedules or their summer break to teach us about this beautiful world. So far we have had to pleasure to be taught by Dr. Patrick McMillan and his son, a grad student at Clemson, Nick McMillan. They are so passionate about the prairie and what it has to offer that it is infections. Dr. McMillan is a very talented man! He can spit out bird names from their calls at the drop of a hat, as well as common and scientific names of the flora. I have aspirations of being able to do that. I have a lot of work ahead of me, but it will be well worth it. The McMillan’s have taught us a lot about what the prairie natural state prior to cattle ranching and farming. They taught us about how this biome came about and the importance of the native wildlife. But with the importance of the wildlife, there is conflict between the wildlife and the local folks of the Great Plains.
Prairie dogs are despised in the west, they have been propagated to ranchers by the United States government as competitors for grasses and destroyers of the land. There are still, to this day, federal funding to poison prairie dogs. My tax money is going to destroy animals that have been wrongfully accused of destroying the lands that they have evolved with. Ranchers hate prairie dogs because they believe that they are taking all of the nutrients from their cattle. Prairie dogs keep the grasses around their burrows short to better see their predators. They are also very social creatures and their habitat is like a large town that can spread across the landscape for miles. We have seen prairie dog towns that are not so pretty with scares grass. These towns are formed from them being pushed by ranchers into lands that are too high in saline for grasses to grow. I have also seen towns that are green as far as my eyes can see. We have learned that the prairie dogs do a service for the animals that come and eat the grasses at prairie dog towns. The grass is always green from the prairie dogs munching on them. Where the prairie dogs do not munch, the grass is tall and dries out from the heat. The dried dead matter does not have as high nutritional matter as the grasses that are lush and green on the prairie dog towns. Quality over quantity. Along with lush green grasses, the prairie dogs do a service to the plants from their burrowing. Allowing for soil nutrients that have been leeched to deeper horizons to be stirred back into the upper horizons. This allows plants to get nutrients they otherwise would have had to do without.
Bison are also important for the prairie ecosystem. They have been seen as animals that pack the soil by staying in tight herds and wallowing on the ground. But they put back into the ecosystem what they take out with good nutrient rich dung. They fertilize the prairie with their dung and urine. Their wallowing creates impressions in the ground that collect water when it rains. These water filled impressions allow for the animals in this aired land access to watering holes far from the nearest river or lake. These impressions also allow migratory birds’ sanctuary for food and water on their long journeys from north to south or south to north. The native animals of the North American Prairie belong here. They belong here more than the humans who have defaced the land and have tried to drive them out.We started off our trip with a camping trip for a few days on the American Prairie Reserve (APR). The APR is a great project, they are returning the range land back to the prairie dogs and bison. They are giving these animals the opportunity to survive and hopefully restore their populations with little to no human aide. APR is struggling with the locals around the reserve to understand the importance the native animals have on the prairie. The argument is that the cattle is just like a bison and can rightfully take its place and the prairie dogs are a menace and should be destroyed. But we have learned that bison is an important part of the ecosystem. The APR’s goal is not just to bring bison back to the prairie. They know, through research and from history that a health prairie ecosystem is not going to be healthy without bison. The prairie evolved with bison and prairie dogs. Without them, the prairie may as well disappear.
It is hard not to notice the “Don’t Buffalo Me” signs as we drive in and out of APR. The locals do not want APR here. They do not want refuges, monuments, or wildlife. For me, this is hard to understand, and I expect that. I did not grow up on a ranch or in the west. I grew up in Akron, OH and had to deal with my own struggles growing up in poverty. But as I have grown older, along with the education that I am receiving at Clemson, I am struggling with seeing how the people in this stunning place do not want wildlife refuges and have called bison unnatural. I want to say it might be from a lack of education on the evolution of the prairie or they just do not want to hear the fact that what they are doing is going to cause this place to disappear. Do they care? Of course they do, they live and breathe the prairie. Why would they want to destroy their lively hood, their family, and their prairie? I have thought about putting myself in their shoes. I do see that they lively hood is being threatened. Their land, their cattle, their source of income. But the research seems to have been done, practices are already in place to manage ranching in a way that benefits the farmer and the wildlife. Their maybe more work that goes into it, it might be a little more costly, but in the long term you are able to keep on to your traditions and still have the prairie be in a health state; would that not be more important than hate an animal that has been wrongfully accused of destroying the land?
I still have a lot to learn in this lab. Right now I feel very naive for wanting everything to work out in perfect harmony. But this comes with learning. An opinion will be formed, it might be by the end of the lab or by the time I graduate with my bachelors. The next lessons we have in store for us relate to animal health. A stepping stone in the lessons of Prairie Ecology. For now, I am going to sit back and enjoy my time here. Enjoy the big skies, rolling prairie, and the wildlife around High Meadows ranch.
