Tools for the changing environment

The nation's leading bison Extension specialist, South Dakota State University's Jeff Martin, is involved in a $7.39 million, multi-institution cooperative agreement that will aid in bison recovery efforts and will provide local producers with the adaptation tools they need to compete in a dynamic world. 

Ranching operations are not immune to the changing climatic conditions of the Great Plains. In particular, bison ranching operations, with their heavy reliance on natural ecosystems, are likely to be affected by changes in seasonal weather patterns.

For example, climate projections show that in three decades — the 2050s — the western half of South Dakota will see significantly more hot and humid days than it does now. It is projected that the Badlands region will see around 70 days each summer of heat indices above 90 F, and in 25 of those days, the heat index will climb to above 100 F.

These are significant changes in comparison to the 1990s in South Dakota, when the heat index would climb to above 100 just three days a summer (on average). Tools and strategies for dealing with these changes will be essential for producers and ranchers moving into the future.

South Dakota State University has partnered with the University of Colorado Boulder to facilitate the development and knowledge sharing of these tools and strategies. UC Boulder was recently awarded a five-year, $7.39 million cooperative agreement with the United States Geological Survey to host the "North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center."

Jeff Martin, assistant professor of bison biology and management in SDSU's Department of Natural Resource Management and the nation's leading bison Extension specialist, will lead SDSU's involvement in the project and will be focused on providing bison managers with the tools, strategies and information they need to adapt their operations to changing climatic conditions. 

"Building ecological resilience on working lands requires a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach that I’m pleased to be part of with this program," Martin said. "Studying bison as both livestock and as wildlife help to learn if bison responses to environmental changes is due to management practices or due to common, inherent functions for all bison."

The research focus of Martin's work will be quantifying the physiological response of bison to changing climatic conditions, assessing management practices of bison managers and providing Extension resources for bison managers across the U.S.

Overall, Martin's efforts are expected to support bison recovery efforts in North America, where there are approximately 400,000 bison. South Dakota has the largest bison population in the U.S. with nearly 40,000.

"Bison restoration requires healthy, happy bison herds," Martin said. "Adaptation to changing climatic conditions is two-fold: bison must physiologically adapt to changing climatic conditions but also must management practices to best enable bison’s inherent adaptations."

Martin will also engage with tribal partners on issues related to water availability and drought, while also facilitating new connections for bison-related topics.

The North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center is one of nine regional centers created to assist land and resource managers and private landowners in meeting the challenges the region's climate and seasonal weather patterns present. The center's goal is to advance the development and delivery of actionable science to help fish, wildlife, water, land and people in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas and Nebraska — the "North Central" region — adapt to a changing environment.

Other partners involved in the project include Colorado State University, the University of Wyoming, The Nature Conservancy, the University of Montana and the Great Plains Tribal Water Alliance.