Travel Blog Part 1 for NATIVE | Prodigies of an Icon. In order to make the trailer | pilot for the documentary we had to figure out a way to dramatically cut costs. Since travel costs are a large part of documentary filming we decided the best way to achieve our goal was to invest in a camper.
This On The Road Episode was brought to you by:
Meet My Neighbor Productions had the opportunity to interview Wizipan Little Elk of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe (Sicangu Oyate) the Rosebud Reservation and visit the Rosebud Herd.
We had the pleasure of visiting Scott Assman in South Dakota on the Assman Land and Cattle ranch just outside the Rosebud Reservation. Scott Assman is the founder of Dakota Pure Bison along with Alex Heims. They own a her of just under 1,000 head of bison on over 10,000 managed acres.
The Bison of Yellowstone definitely have a majesty about them you simply don’t experience elsewhere. The Yellowstone herd is probably the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States, estimated in 2020 to be 4,800 bison. The bison in the Yellowstone Park bison herd are American bison of the Plains bison subspecies.
Durham Ranch in Wyoming is an incredible 55,000 acre Bison Ranch running anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 head of Bison in their herd. This is one of the largest herds we’ve had the opportunity to experience and look forward to seeing more of the in the future.
We had the privilege of visiting the Eastern Shoshone Tribe on the Wind River Reservation of Wyoming. This is an incredible conservation effort to provide Bison with a wild habitat range just outside the back door of the Yellowstone and Titan Parks where Bison currently roam wild. This picturesque setting currently rests on 600 acres with an additional 500 leased acres and will eventually connect with the Northern Arapaho Tribes herd.
We’ve had the incredible opportunity to spend a couple of days filming at Memphis Ranch in Carr, CO. The ranch is a great example of a Bison start up with lots of potential and an exciting business plan.
https://memphisranch.com
It’s nearly impossible to document regenerative ranching practices without crossing paths with the Savory Institute. We had the incredible opportunity of meeting with and filming the West Bijou Ranch Savory Institute Staff as they met with the USGS to evaluate forage growth from around the ranch.
On the initial leg of our trip we sprinted across the country from Goldston NC to Strasburg CO only stopping in West Virginia and Kansas to “pop-up” and sleep. We’ve been in Strasburg now for 3 nights filming at the West Bijou Ranch, Rocky Mountain Natural Meats, and Memphis Ranch.
Our 32 year old pop up camper is hanging in there! Super easy to tow although a little crunched for space and not exactly ideal for KOA sites close to the interstate. But we’ve managed and the journey has been exciting!
Day 1 of filming NATIVE | Prodigies of an Icon we visited with National Bison Association President Dave Carter at the West Bijou Ranch outside of Strasburg Colorado.
