Local Travel Features

Bison Auction Set for Land Between The Lakes

January 23, 2020 | Staff Report

The US Forest Service plans to host a public auction at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area to manage herd size on Feb. 1.

The auction is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. CDT at the South Bison Range corral. Bidder registration and viewing begins at 8 a.m. Bison purchases may be made with cash, credit card or personal check at time of bid acceptance.

The South Bison Range corral is located on the west side of the Woodlands Trace National Scenic Byway (TN461) just south of the Ky./Tenn. state line. This location is across the Scenic Byway from the Homeplace 1850 Working Farm.

The Forest Service will sell approximately 36 bison, each separately to the highest bidder(s), including:
• 1 cow born 2008, tested for pregnancy
• 2 large young bulls born 2017
• 10 yearling heifers born in 2018
• 7 yearling bulls
• A mix of 16 bull and heifer calves born in 2019

All animals will be tested for brucellosis and tuberculosis by a licensed veterinarian before the auction. Preliminary details regarding age, sex, and weights of all animals to be sold will be available after noon Jan. 29 with the final list available at 8 a.m. on auction day. For a preliminary list or any questions, call Curtis Fowler at 270.924.2061 or email frederick.fowler@usda.gov.

An on-site veterinarian will issue Certificates of Veterinary Inspection as required for interstate transport immediately after the auction. Import permits will be on hand for Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Alabama, and North Carolina. Buyers are responsible for knowing import, vaccination, and testing regulations of the home state before purchasing bison. If additional state inspection certificates are required, contact 270.924.2061 on or before Jan. 27.

Additional services may be purchased from the on-site veterinarian by cash or check to include vaccinations at time of bid acceptance.

Because of size and temperament, closed-topped trailers or vehicles are required to transport bison. Once bison step off the loading chute and into a buyer’s trailer, the animal becomes the property and responsibility of the buyer. Buyers must load animals immediately following the auction. For an additional $30 per animal fee, arrangements can be made at time of payment to load bison Feb. 3 between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. only.

Land Between the Lakes manages two herds of American Bison. All bison bloodlines originated from three sources—in 1969 from Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, in 1988 and 2012 from Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge in Nebraska, and in 1996 from Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota.

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