Preparation For Winter Grazing

In preparation for the annual move of Wild Idea buffalo into their winter grazing area in the Indian Creek/Big Corral Draw area of the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, the perimeter fence enclosing the 22,000 acres must be inspected and repaired. That job has often fallen to me. One person can handle some of the fence fairly easily, but most of the work requires two people. Some of the country to be traversed, however beautiful, is tough to get around in, and after the devastating snowstorm/blizzard that we just endured the familiar trails often change course and become impassable by the old routes. So getting to some of the isolated areas that contain a fence that stretches between natural barriers can be quite an adventure. A team of workers, therefore, is safer than for one person alone. I have worked this fence line with several different people. It usually takes about a week to complete the roughly twenty-six miles of fence.

This year, like last year, Colton Jones (by now a familiar to Wild Idea Buffalo Company), and I started out on a Saturday morning toward one of these remote areas, Taylor Mountain and the East branch of Big Corral Draw. There is a narrow trail up the mountain that we hike. It is about 3/4 of a mile to the beginning of our inspection tour. The fence itself is maybe about 1/2 mile long, but it spans some deep, steep gullies where some of the posts had been knocked down by the weight of the snow and wind. We had carried our tools with us: fencing pliers, hammers, post pounder, wire stretcher, and wire splicer. We worked our way down the mountain and re-strung, the water crossings at the base of the mountain. Colton and I work easily together, and catch up on the details of each other’s lives in between pounding fence posts and stringing wire. It was late afternoon; so we headed for home. The next day was longer but without the adventure of blazing new trails.

In between weekends Dan and I spend a couple of days pheasant hunting while Colton attends classes at BHSU in Spearfish. On these occasions I have the privilege of staying in my former apartment at the ranch, with my two dogs. I feel right at home and enjoy some of my old routines of; coffee with Erney, buttoning up the shop at night, and dinner with Dan and Jill.

 Back to work, Colton and I head out to the headwaters of Indian Creek. Indian Creek presents its own challenges. Mud and creek crossings, steep hills and deep gullies. We load a four-wheeler on a trailer pulled by a pickup truck and drive for about 1 1/2 hours to arrive at where we start. It’s more of the same but always with a new problem to solve. High water from snowmelt and runoff does amazing damage to fences that cross the waterways. It is a little less remote in this area, but nobody ever comes out to see what we are doing or to give us a hand. We just go along, do our job until it’s finished and go home.The following day we finish that section. There are only two more sections to go, which isn’t too bad for a crew with an average age of 50 years old.

Note: I’m writing this piece on the birthday of the US Marine Corps. Happy Birthday to all Marines–past and present. Once a marine, always a marine. Semper Fi.