Bison & Sustainability
- Observatory to be Constructed at Belwin Center
- Belwin becomes Belwin Conservancy
- Director's Message
- Bison & Sustainability
- Lucy News
- Belwin Conservancy Acquiring Property to Jump-Start Art & Nature Program
- Bison Update
- The View from the Combine
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Under a rain-filled sky in late June, Belwin began a new chapter in its story. Over three-hundred people gathered to watch as David Hartwell, the chair of Belwin's board, threw open a trailer door and out bounded 25 bison; the first to roam these prairies in over 150 years. This moment did not happen by chance. Years of planning and many months of labor preceded this event. It was a story that Belwin has wanted to tell for a long time and given the crowd that day, it was a story that people want to hear.
By most measures, we have been very successful restoring prairies to our land. By planting native seeds and reintroducing regular fires to the landscape we have restored over 500-acres of thriving native prairie. Our prairies and oak savannas cover a variety of landscapes, host numerous rare plants and are an essential link for numerous threatened grassland bird species. Viewed through the lens of restoration, these efforts have been a success. Viewed as part of a larger conservation effort, our prairies are a drop in the bucket of what is ultimately necessary or possible.
For prairies to truly make a comeback, they must be part of a larger system that rewards those who restore them with more than just aesthetics and biodiversity. There must be real financial incentives behind prairie restoration, or they will always be relegated to the shadows. Several government programs exist that do this with subsidies. They have been very successful at restoring many acres of prairie, but we must strive to take these programs to the next level by looking for real market-based financial incentives to spur prairie restoration. Belwin believes that bison are at least part of the solution and that they represent a new model for agriculture that is completely sustainable.
Bison are the perfect complement for a restored prairie. In many ways, the mere presence of these animals brings vigor to a prairie. Bison spread seed as they move around, they create variation in the landscape with their wallows and they aerate the soil with their hooves. These actions create a more vigorous ecosystem that increases the health of the prairie and in turn, the animals that rely on it including the bison themselves. Like the prairie itself, bison are superbly adapted to life on the plains and need very little to help them thrive in this area. Once established a prairie / bison system needs almost no further inputs including fertilizer, pesticide, or herbicide; making it the very definition of sustainability. The bison can be harvested providing a true income-source for the farmer that creates a financial incentive to protect and expand the prairie. Almost all bison sold in the marketplace is raised, at least at some point in their life cycle, on grain (corn, etc.) as is beef cattle. Not only does this strip away any environmental benefits, but also it makes for an inferior product. Grass-fed bison is lower in fat and higher in omega-3 fatty acids than grain-fed bison, beef or even chicken. This means that not only do prairie-raised bison actually help restore one of our nation’s most endangered ecosystems and take almost no energy to produce, but also they are one of the most healthful meats available anywhere.
NorthStar Bison is the family-farm that owns and manages the herd living at Belwin. This year, they have an agreement with Kowalski’s Markets to sell bison meat at their stores throughout the Twin Cities. For Kowalski’s, NorthStar Bison is a compelling product because it represents the kind of local, sustainable agriculture that their customers are hungry for. Belwin’s prairie provides NorthStar with a bit more room for their bison to roam and helps them to meet the demand created by their partnership with Kowalski’s. Belwin in turn, finally got bison for its prairies and is absolutely thrilled to be part of this partnership. This is why Belwin Board Chair David Hartwell, was so excited to be turning the bison loose at Belwin last June. Finally, here is a model that will help bring the prairie back and bring the bison back, not just at Belwin, but all over the Midwest. We couldn’t be more excited to be part of this story.