A bit of Western history will once again grace Colorado’s shortgrass prairie next month when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service transports 13 to 15 wild bison to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.
The pilot bison project has been planned for more than a decade at the 27-square-mile arsenal 11 miles northeast of Denver, where chemical weapons were once manufactured.
Bringing a herd of wild bison to the refuge is a significant step, said Sherry James, supervisory park ranger. “The bison are coming home.”
The animals will be transported from the federal National Bison Range in Moiese, Mont., which has an overabundance. Several are also being moved to Iowa and North Dakota. The move to Colorado will happen by late February.
It’s almost impossible to find bison with no genetic markers for cattle, but the herd coming to Colorado is about as good as they come, said Thomas Roffe, chief of wildlife health for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Montana herd is being spread out to make sure its gene pool is not lost to disease.
“You can’t say genetically pure,” Roffe said. “But we have selected bison that show no cattle gene markers.”
Officials with the former Superfund site still must build a fence around 1,400 acres, provide a management plan for a public review and hold a meeting to discuss the project at the arsenal from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Feb. 10.
The land shows no signs of contamination.
Where the bison will roam, prairie grasses are abundant enough to support a herd of 35, James said. Water will be trucked in for the animals, which will be able to be seen by the public on occasion, she said.
“Will they be able to see them all the time?” she asked. “Probably not. They do roam.”
Staff writer Jeremy P. Meyer can be reached at 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com.
