By Alexis Pencar
SHARON SPRINGS — This Saturday, November 2nd, marks 2024 National Bison Day, a celebration of the United States’ National Mammal, the American Bison. Join Bison Island Ranch in Sharon Springs on this significant day from 12:00-2:00 PM for a special event honoring bison!
We spoke to Dr. Susan Golembeski, Owner & Rancher of Bison Island Ranch and were pleased to learn more, “I feel great pride in my effort to restore this majestic keystone species back to the landscape of upstate New York. This was an area they naturally roamed. We can all play a role in restoring bison by learning about them, respecting them, and enjoying the delicious nutrient-dense, low fat, healthy protein they provide. Eat bison to restore bison! I personally invite you to the ranch on Saturday to learn more about the importance of bison and even take home my award winning recipe to make it yourself. Come on out and let’s celebrate our National Mammal on National Bison Day together.”
As it has for nearly a decade now, the United States Senate in September passed the National Bison Day resolution. As the species continues its restoration to its native landscape, National Bison Day recognizes the animal’s importance to American culture, conservation and commerce. Bison neared extinction 150 years ago due to a combination of unregulated hunting, persistent drought and disease, and a disregard for conserving the species. The specie’s numbers dropped to under 1,000 bison left in the world.
Thanks to a cohort of forward-thinking ranchers, conservationists and federal officials, the American
bison was saved from extinction. That collaboration remains intact today, resulting in restoring the
species to over 400,000 animals across North America. This unique collaboration among conservation, tribal and agricultural bison stakeholders led to the establishment of bison as the United States National Mammal in 2016.
This National Bison Day, bison farms and ranches, zoos, Native American tribes, museums, schools and more will celebrate this iconic species across America. The National Bison Association encourages all bison enthusiasts to take part in these activities to learn more about bison and to celebrate its continued restoration.
The National Bison Association is a not-for-profit trade association made up largely of bison farmers and ranchers, which has members in every state, every Canadian province, and six countries. Collectively, today’s bison producers are stewarding this species as nature intended, replicating their historical habitat of healthy grasslands and utilizing regenerative ranching practices to mimic their ability to “roam” the landscape while supporting American farmers’ and ranchers’ livelihoods.
The result is a unique approach to food production that not only ensures humane treatment of bison, but also benefits the ground that they graze on and a myriad of flora and fauna that share the species habitat. The resulting meat is a nutrient dense, extremely lean protein that has become an American delicacy as both chefs and households have embraced deliciously healthy bison meat.
Bison as a species are not domesticated, which farmers and ranchers use to their advantage. They still give birth according to their natural cycle, they are not artificially inseminated, do not receive any growth stimulants, have minimal predation issues because they can still defend themselves, and retain their innate instincts that have preserved the bison for millennia. This is why the National Bison Day refer to the species as “Regenerative by Nature”. When managed correctly, bison regenerate healthy soils, grasslands and prairie, and the species itself. Learn more about bison at
https://bisoncentral.com/.
Join Bison Island Ranch, located at 194 Engleville Road, Sharon Springs, NY on November 2nd from 12:00-2:00 PM to celebrate bison with a customer appreciation discount on the popular bison ground and each purchase will also include a copy of the famous award winning Bison Chili Recipe!
Happy National Bison Day!
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