The Big Buffalo Roundup at Custer State Park in South Dakota

Earlier in the year, we photographed Ethan and Sarah’s wedding in Colorado.  Ethan’s dad Ron Walker is one of the cowboys that started the Big Buffalo Round Up that happens in South Dakota every year.
Ethan helped get me connected with the right people who were able to set me up with a media pass.  At the event, the park staff spend a few days organizing all the buffalo and then on the last day they do a big push over the hill and 1200 buffalo come charging down. I will have one of ten slots to ride in a truck on Sunday and follow the herd and then for the big event on Monday I’ll have a spot in the front for best photos and viewing. This is a really exciting opportunity and something very unique and different!!  Check back in early October for pics and stories.

The annual Buffalo Roundup is an important part of the park’s resource management program. To control the size of the park’s bison population, a portion of the herd is sold at the annual Buffalo Auction.  The park can sustain about 1000 buffalo during the winter months so the additional ones need to be auctioned off and sold.   The revenue received from this auction remains in the park and comprises a portion of the park’s annual operating budget.

Image from: http://www.sdgfp.info/Parks/Regions/Custer/round.htm
South Dakota Office of Tourism