59th Annual Fall Classic - Custer State Park Bison Auction

Saturday, November 2, 2024 - 10:00 a.m. (MT)

Custer State Park Visitor Center

SELLING APPROXIMATELY: 485 HEAD

(75) MATURE COWS
(11) BRED HEIFERS
(10) OPEN HEIFERS
(41) YEARLING HEIFERS
(114) HEIFER CALVES
(168) BULL CALVES
(42) YEARLING BULLS
(24) 2-YEAR-OLD BULLS

Welcome to the 59th Annual Custer State Park Bison auction. Each year the auction is used as a method to manage the herd to a sustainable size based on the carrying capacity of our rangelands, and aid in supplementing other herds across the continent.

By the year 1900, it was estimated that fewer than 1,000 bison remained on the entire continent. Peter Norbeck, South Dakota’s 9th Governor, made a crucial decision to preserve these animals when then, Custer State Forest and Game Preserve (today known as Custer State Park) purchased 36 bison to start the Park’s herd. Today, Custer State Park manages over 1,450 bison during the summer. Bison are an important component of Custer State Park. Thousands of visitors each year get a unique experience to view these animals in a setting that could resemble the earlier days when pioneers traveled across the midwestern prairies. These animals also help the Park maintain a healthy grassland ecosystem with grazing behaviors that encourage native plant diversity.

In 2021, Custer State Park partnered with South Dakota State University on a project to study grazing behavior and movements of bison within the Park. The project allowed 25 mature bison cows to receive gps collars that tracked their movements throughout the year. This year, in October, we removed the collars again and are preparing to download, and interpret data for the 2024 grazing season. The goal behind this project is to learn if Park Bison are utilizing more of the Park to graze after the Legion Lake Fire in 2017. The collars collected in 2023 showed good results, however more data is needed to come to a good conclusion. The study will continue for at least 2 more grazing seasons.

All animals sold qualify for grass fed only programs. Along with the native mixed-grass prairie grass bison are given free choice mineral. No supplemental feeding of any kind occurs during the winter.

Thank you for attending our auction and purchasing these quality animals so that Custer State Park can continue to do its part in supporting the goal of “Bison One Million”.

59th Annual Fall Classic Custer State Park Bison Auction