More bison & RMA update

Thanks to those who responded to my "Christmas Gift" bison post. I thought I'd add a few more and answer Brian Jackson's question about RMA here.

Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge is open and good photo opp's. can be had - even with the restricted access. If anyone went out for the deer rut in November, you know that very large and active deer were frequently near the access road off of Havana and near the visitor center. A number of photos in my Prairie Thunder book were made in places that are easily accessible. That said, I understand the frustration with a two decade long cleanup and limited access.

The cleanup is complete. There will be no more surprise closures for bomblet discoveries. Numerous roads have been deleted and restoration continues at a rapid pace. Today's work involves moving the massive pile of rubble off of 56th to the landfill, before capping off the whole works. I know that people like to joke about glowing prairie dogs, but the place is clean. Starling eggs are checked, air and water is constantly checked, and all dead animals get a necropsy to test for chemicals. The wildlife population is thriving. There are 24 bald eagles on the roost count, the bison herd is up to 36 animals I think, and ferruginous hawks are having a good season. Prairie dogs are doing so well that RMA is being considered for a possible black-footed ferret test site.

There is currently a NANPA blind set up near Lake Derby, in a good locale for raptors and whitetail deer, You can call 303-289-5930 to find out how to reserve a spot and freeze your butt off like I do.

The bison herd will continue to expand as part of the USFWS metapopulation management strategy. The refuge can support in the neighborhood of 250 animals, but the pasture will remain closed to the general public. There may still be photo opps with the bison in the future. Bison aside, there are lots of opportunities in places that you can access. I would be happy to talk to anyone individually if you have specific questions. For those that don't know what I do at RMA, I'm the "volunteer" photographer, for 6 years now.

Oh, and the last piece of BIG news, a new visitor center is planned. The LEED Gold building will start in fall of 2010, with an opening in spring/summer of 2011. Access hours will expand with the opening. I'll try to do regular updates & hope this helps.

Here's another frosty bison - comments appreciated.

Bison Bull flehmen behavior as he follows a cow. I often wish CS4 had a butt removal tool

Bison about to eat the photographer.

Hey Dave, very sweet shots! I did not see the original you posted, so went and looked at that one... I think like the first one posted here the best. I like the focus on the head and how he is looking in your direction. Just seems to have a bit more personality.

The 2nd behavioral shot is a pretty cool capture as well!

Cool, Dave, i really like #1 especially. How close do you get to the Bison? Ive been shooting the Sand Dunes Medano herd but im a bit tentative in approaching huge horned animals.

Dave thanks for the update on the Refuge along with the images.

Stan, bison get a bad rap, but they're really docile and will let you actually go up and pet them, especially when there are babies nearby. You could probably even hop onto a bull's back and ride him around a little bit. Sure beats walking! My suggestion is to approach them from behind, very quietly, and when you're about 10 feet from them, shout out really loud to let them know to turn around and greet you by rolling onto their backs and beckoning you to rub their tummies. That's a great time to pull out the wide-angle lens for some real environmental type shots.

Thanks for the update Dave. Todd, I'll try your advice and let you know how it goes.

Thanks for the images and update!

You've really gotten some great shots of these guys lately. I'll be heading out to the Denver area in Feb so I may have to check it out myself. Thanks for the info.

Thanks for the feedback, folks.

Interesting perspectives, Stan and Todd. On one hand, we have have the cautious respect for horned creatures that weigh more than a ton and are athletic enough to run 40 mph. On the other, we have Buffalo Bill Caudle's gidde-up and ride philosophy. I would submit that we need to look no further than Steve Weaver's Tacoma to determine the best approach. Steve sits there observing, his truck minding its business, when a bison bull smashes into the truck and destroys it. I don't know about you, Stan, but I don't want to be the Tacoma in that scenario. With all due respect to Cloudman, I'll go out on a limb and suggest that the first time a bison flares its nostrils at Todd, he'll be wailing like a 12 year old girl that didn't get a ticket for the midnight showing of Twilight.

So here's the deal. If tails go up and the animal isn't pooping, you have a problem. I never walk directly at bison, elk, deer, etc. There have been times when they have gotten curious and approached me. I try to use my vehicle as a barrier in those situations and have been prepared to throw my gear in the truck and dive in because they were getting too close for my comfort. Although they appear docile and harmless, bison are as bad ass as anything else out there and can turn a human into chicken fried steak in no time flat. It's the reason that warnings at Yellowstone are printed in English and Japanese - unsuspecting and uninformed tourists walk right up to them with p&s cameras and get gored every year. If I'm walking, I walk parallel to the herd and watch very closely. There's always a "scout" animal that is watching me. If the scout moves towards me or anyone's tail goes up, I'm backing off. The more time that I spend standing in one spot, the better chance they'll get used to me and go about their business, which oftentimes means they'll graze and move in my direction. When I move to improve position, it's 3-5 steps at a time. If they line up and face me with tails up, I'm outta there! I have heard of very cautious biologists getting charged and snapping a towel to stop the beast a foot or two before getting trampled. I don't want that to be me and it's not because I don't carry a towel. Be careful out there.

Lastly, there's always a market for environmental shots of big animals in a big landscape, particularly in a place as beautiful as Medano-Zapata.

More excellent winter bison shots, Dave. Very nice work!

More excellent winter bison shots, Dave. Very nice work!

Dave, thanks for the update on RMA and nice shots. I haven't been out there for quite sometime now since my miniscus has been torn to shreads. I did have surgery on it last week and hope to make my way out there in a few weeks though, so again, thanks for the information. Maybe I will run into you out there someday soon!

Thanks for the update and great bison shots Dave! I hope to make it out to the Arsenal again soon, that is if I can manage to peel myself away from Plum Creek for one day...

Thanks for the updates. Love the tight crop in the last image.