Plains students tour local bison ranch

Rhonda Leaper's and Judi Warner's Plains third grade classes were treated to a tour at the Harlow Bison Ranch in Thompson Falls as the school year came to a close. The tour was conducted by ranch owner Melinda Onakalea. She and husband Adam moved back to Montana to run Melinda's family ranch. The ranch was originally used for raising sheep. "Later it was leased out to cattle ranchers. I came home in 2019 after being gone for 22 years to turn it into a bison ranch," Melinda said.

The tours typically last an hour, but school field trips take longer as the truck that carries kids to the pasture can hold about six students along with an adult. The bumpy ride in the bed of the pickup truck goes out into the 40 acre pastures right to the herd. Students can feed the bison hay pellets by hand. The bison are used to humans handing out treats but they are not tame. The docile animals see the truck coming and walk over for a bite. Kids can get a close up view of the animals. Melinda has a microphone in the cab so she can give information and ask questions.

The students see the herd in a confined pasture and ponder the idea of whether the bison are content to be here or if they would rather be out on the prairies as wild animals. Melinda said to keep the herd calm they are rotated every three days in the summertime. "To keep them happy and staying in the fences, they are moved from one forty acres to another forty acres. The biggest pasture is 300 acres," she said. The herd does not need rotating in the wintertime as they don't get as antsy, Melinda explained. The herd is moved by following the pickup with feed in the back or by four wheelers. "I am not brave enough to move them by horse," Melinda said.

There are eighty bison in the touring herd. Cows, calves and bulls stay together. The calves stay with their moms until she has a new calf. They self-wean from their moms. "The calves are vaccinated for brucellosis before their first birthday. The vaccine lasts a lifetime," Melinda said.

Barney is a four year old with frostbitten ears. He has gone on tour to Plains where the students had previously met him. Bison bulls are born with straight horns. At age six their horns start to curve upwards. A fully grown bison bull can weigh up to 2,500 lbs and grow to six feet tall at the hump. Bison cows are born with their horns pointing up. "This is how you can tell them apart when they are young," Melinda said. A full grown cow can weigh between 900 and 1.200 lbs. She explained that bison communicate with their horns. "They don't talk like other animals with sounds. They talk with their horns."

Right now the herd is shedding out their winter coats. "Their wool can be used for different things," Melinda said. She gathers it and gives her guests a sample before they leave.

The ranch was started in the late 1800's, according to Melinda's cousin's husband Danny Milligan. He said the original homestead had a sheepherder's cabin across Squathum Creek. The house today was built in the early 1900's by the Harlows. The ranch has 2,000 acres. "We are clearing out more trees to make more pasture land for the bison," Melinda said.

The tours are a way to inform people of the bison lifestyle and see them up close. "They are not tame enough to pet like some people would think. They are still wild compared to cows, and much bigger," Danielle Paguet said. She attended the tour as a chaperone. "It's the best non-working day ever!" She subs at the school and has a son in third grade. The tour and picnic lunch with the students was a treat for her. "This tour would help people to understand that bison can not be approached like people often do in Yellowstone Park," Paquet said.

While Melinda takes students on tours the rest of the students color posters of bison and do word search puzzles. Adam and helpers on the ranch set up picnic tables for the students and adults to have lunch before heading back to Plains.

The tours are not free. Adults pay $25 but kids do get in for free. There is a store for purchasing meat. The ranch has information on meat available and its comparison to other forms of meat proteins.