Going once, going twice: Why is there a public bison auction at Land Between the Lakes?
If you’re in the market for an animal potentially weighing more than 1,000 pounds, you’re in luck — officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service will host a public bison auction Saturday at the Land Between the Lakes to reduce the site’s herd size.
Currently, 127 bison call the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area home. Fifty-nine live at the Elk & Bison Prairie and 68 are at the South Bison Range, spokesperson Carlin Lewis wrote in an email to the Herald-Leader.
“The USDA Forest Service at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area has used bison auctions as an important tool to manage herd sizes for over 20 years,” Lewis said.
Approximately 32 bison will be individually up for auction at this year’s sale, including:
One cow born 2015, tested for pregnancy
Nine large young bulls born 2020
Four cows born 2020, tested for pregnancy
Six yearling heifers born in 2021
Seven yearling bulls born 2021
“Herd management decisions are based on a variety of factors, including land acreage, calving trends, resource impacts, and forage availability,” Lewis said.
Bison in Kentucky
The Land Between the Lakes’ Elk & Bison Prairie began as a public/private cooperative project in 1996. Biologists there began working toward restoring the prairie landscape in the mid-1970s through controlled burns over a number of years, then adding elk, bison and more warm-season grasses.
Big Bone Lick State Park also offers opportunities to see bison. Historically, bison provided food, clothing and shelter for Indigenous peoples, but they were hunted to near extinction in Kentucky by around the year 1800.
The Elk & Bison Prairie at Land Between the Lakes is 650 acres, and 73 elk share the space with the bison. The South Bison Range is approximately 200 acres.
“Pastures are maintained through conventional pasture management practices and cultivated with native species of grasses and forbs,” Lewis continued. “Historic native habitats are restored through active habitat management, including use of prescribed fire and grazing.”
The auction will be held at the South Bison Range corral in Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. It will begin at 9 a.m. Central Standard Time Saturday, and bidder registration and viewing begin at 8 a.m.
Bison sale prices
In 2021, bison from the Elk & Bison Prairie sold for anywhere from $850 to $3,000, depending on the animal. Here’s how much the bison sold for in 2021:
Fourteen female calves sold, with prices ranging from $1,025 to $1,325. The average price was $1,248.
Eight male calves were sold, with prices ranging from $850 to $1,000. The average sale price was $903.
Nine yearling heifers were sold, with prices ranging from $1,625 to $1,975. The average sale price was $1,711.
Six yearling bulls were sold, with prices ranging from $1,685 to $1,805. The average sale price was $1,739.
Three pregnant cows were sold, with prices ranging from $1,550 to $2,300. The average sale price was $1,883.
One open cow was sold for $1,550.
One 2.75-year-old bull was sold for $3,000.
There were 55 registered participants in the 2021 auction, including 19 people who placed bids and 13 who purchased bison.
Purchases can be made by cash, credit card or personal check at the time of bid acceptance, the Land Between the Lakes’ auction page says. Vaccination services may be purchased from the onsite veterinarian, as well.
All animals are tested for brucellosis and tuberculosis by a licensed veterinarian before the auction, the Land Between the Lakes website says.
A veterinarian will issue Certificates of Veterinary Inspection as required for interstate transport immediately after the auction, and import permits will be on hand for Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Alabama and North Carolina.
More on the ‘majestic animal’
The bison at the Land Between the Lakes originate from three bloodline sources: from the Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota in 1969, from Fort Niobrara National Wildlife refuge in Nebraska in 1988 and 2012 and from Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota in 1996.
The American bison was named the U.S. national mammal in 2016.
“This majestic animal joins the ranks of the Bald Eagle as the official symbol of our country — and much like the eagle, they’re a symbol of our American identity and one of the greatest conservation success stories of all time,” the U.S. Department of the Interior says.
Male bison, or bulls, weigh up to 2,000 pounds and can be 6 feet tall, the department reports. Female bison, called cows, reach up to 1,000 pounds and can be 4 to 5 feet tall. Bison calves typically weigh between 30 to 70 pounds at birth.
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