NATIONAL BISON RANGE — The annual Bison Roundup took place Monday and Tuesday at the National Bison Range in Moiese, just outside Dixon.

Bison Range staff members and volunteers from the Backcountry Horsemen worked to gather bison into the corral system as well as maintain spectator boundaries for people who visited the famous range to observe.

“It’s a very pure herd,” Backcountry Horsemen volunteer Conny Placent said. “And as you look down, they were checking, wanding their ears so they know who the bison is, who its mother was - it’s all in the microchip in the ear. They bring them in, they bring up the chip on the [computer] screen, and the veterinarians are there, and they know if they need a shot or not. It’s like a little scorecard.”

Before the herding process begins, the staff holds the bison in what is called the “cutting pen,” which is an open area just outside the corral system. Smaller herds are then “cut” from the main herd by staff, and chased into the large corral system. Once in the corral, they are moved a few at a time into even smaller corrals until they are put into the round corral, and then onto the electric scale, one at a time. After all the data is collected, the bison are then moved down the squeeze shoot, or over to the sale pens.

Staff and volunteers take in data and observe each bison from above, where the corral catwalks are installed. From what is called the “tally shack,” staff have computers and other scale monitors that aid in the roundup data collection. 

Though the roundup isn’t considered a public event, the public is welcome to observe the routine work of the range. The main point of it all is to monitor the herd’s health, genetics, and to remove surplus bison to other herds at other locations.

“Depending on the number of calves born and other factors, 50-60 animals are sold or donated each year,” the informational brochure provided said. “We return approximately 250-325 bison to the range for the winter and will have more calves in the spring.”

As each bison was brought into the round corral, spectators leaned forward on the rail that separated the crowd from the staffed catwalks to see the majestic creatures. Weights taken measured from 1,500 pounds to over 2,000 pounds for adults, and close to 700 pounds or more for calves.

“Bison are strong and temperamental,” the brochure reads. “It takes specially-designed equipment and corrals to handle them. This system of pens and gates is the product of many years of experience and has been improved and modified as better methods or equipment.”

The corral system, whose catwalks held spectators ranging from schoolchildren, to European tourists, to local Montanans who enjoy the roundup each year, was built in 1993.