Buffalo Processing Map
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Flower Hill Institute have created an interactive map of buffalo herds in the Northern Great Plains (NGP) that includes field harvest trailers and stationary processors to expands opportunities for herds and their conservation and management planning, and for partners to help us identify additional processing needs. This information has never been available in one easy to access place.
On this map you will find within the Northern Great Plains (Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, with a slight but incomplete dip into Nebraska and Colorado):
Tribal, Native, and National Bison Association (NBA) buffalo herds;
field harvest trailers;
processing facilities, and whether each of those are custom-exempt, state inspected, or USDA inspected.
New Interactive Map Connecting Buffalo Herds with Processors and Cultural Field Harvest Trailers to Strengthen Tribal Food Sovereignty and Grasslands Management
World Wildlife Fund and Flower Hill Institute launch tool for buffalo processing across the Northern Great Plains
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Flower Hill Institute have created an interactive map of buffalo herds in the Northern Great Plains (NGP) that includes field harvest trailers and stationary processors to expands opportunities for herds and their conservation and management planning, and for partners to help us identify additional processing needs. This information has never been available in one easy to access place.
Buffalo are an essential keystone species for grasslands conservation and restoration. For our Tribal partners the connection is spiritual and cultural, they are considered relatives and essential for restoring self-sufficient food systems. For many others, buffalo are an important economic hub for rural and grass-based economies.
The number of buffalo herds in the NGP is expanding. Nearly every Tribal nation in the NGP now has at least one, and sometimes two or three, buffalo herds. South Dakota alone has the largest number of buffalo in the United States. A key component of managing grasslands sustainably is managing the number of animals on the land. And for all our partners, treating buffalo humanely, even during processing, is a core value. This map provides our partners an essential tool to meet that goal.
To do so, many of our Tribal partners seek out cultural field harvest trailers that allow the animal to be taken out on the prairie with dignity, where they have lived their whole lives. This map for the first time shows the locations of field harvest trailers. Just ten years ago there was only one or two in this whole region, we now count at least fifteen.
When there are no trailers accessible, finding the closest processor that is available and will accept buffalo helps significantly decrease transportation stress on the animals. This map for the first time maps out all the processors in the NGP that will accept buffalo to assist in finding those nearest.
“This is a significant moment for conservation as we step forward to support our Tribal and buffalo partners with an important tool for buffalo and grasslands management and strengthen the link between conservation and sustainable food systems” said Heather Dawn Thompson, Vice President, Native Nations Conservation & Food System, WWF.
“We have deep expertise in supporting our Tribal partners in their paths to economic and food sovereignty through tribal owned meat processing, and this is going to be such a helpful tool,” said Chris Roper, Flower Hill Institute.
On this map you will find within the Northern Great Plains (Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, with a slight but incomplete dip into Nebraska and Colorado):
Tribal, Native, and National Bison Association (NBA) buffalo herds;
field harvest trailers;
processing facilities, and whether each of those are custom-exempt, state inspected, or USDA inspected.
A special thanks to all who participated and worked on this project and to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) for their investment in this vision. The project will also include taking the lessons from this map to develop a Regional Plan to identify gaps and guide optimal investments in and distribution of cold storage, mobile harvest units, and stationary buffalo processing plants to support buffalo herds and grasslands conservation. The teams also hope to expand the map to additional regions.
This map was created as a public good and is free to be shared, posted, and placed on websites wherever helpful. Please reach out to be included in the map or if any information needs to be amended to: BuffaloMap@wwfus.org.
