Bison, also known as buffalo, are often in the news. People have been attacked by bison in Yellowstone National Park this year, bison grazing on Bureau of Land Management allotments in Montana is controversial (see Anna Miller’s article in the Aug. 8 WLJ issue), and environmentalists keep trying to get bison designated as an endangered species. Bison can be up to 6 feet tall, can weigh 2,000 pounds and can run 35 miles per hour.
There are approximately half a million bison in the U.S. and Canada; most are in private herds, and about 20,500 are in public, free-ranging herds. One of these public herds is on a U.S. military base, the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, which is 40 miles north of San Diego, CA. Camp Pendleton was established in 1942 during World War II and was named after Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Joseph H. Pendleton.
The Marines were given 14 bison from the San Diego Zoo between 1973 and 1979, and the herd has increased to about 90 head, with 15-20 calves born per year, and is balanced by natural deaths. The bison are free to range around the 125,000-acre base, and they are managed according to a management plan by the base game wardens. The bison are allowed to live natural lives, and they are not bothered as long as they don’t interfere with the Marines’ training. They occasionally drift into artillery impact areas, where their safety is prioritized. Deer and bird hunting and several endangered species are also managed by the wardens on the base.
I visited Camp Pendleton in 2015 when my son, Jack, was stationed there. Chief Game Warden Michael Tucker generously took me around the base and showed me the bison and other wildlife. The bison are healthy, and they calmly grazed and wandered around the base. Additional pictures and videos of bison on Camp Pendleton are available online at dvidshub.net.
Tucker really knows wildlife, as well as how to operate around active military training—he’s also a colonel in the Army Reserve. Tanks, amphibious landing craft, artillery, jets, helicopters and, of course, infantry Marines train continuously, and Mike has to manage wildlife around them. It’s very impressive how Mike and his crew manage wildlife on a facility with intense Marine combat training.
Managing bison on Camp Pendleton is different from managing wildlife around crops and livestock. For example, bison are incompatible with cattle because they can have diseases such as brucellosis and compete with cattle for forage. But a key concept is the same: The primary objective, training Marines or producing crops and livestock, comes first. Good planning and management allow wildlife to thrive as a secondary objective.
Camp Pendleton is recognized as a great conservation success, managing wildlife along with training Marines in the beautiful natural environment in the middle of crowded and intensively-developed southern California. Although known as tough warriors, leathernecks and devil dogs, the Marines also take care of others, such as with their well-known Toys for Tots Christmas program and caring for wildlife on Camp Pendleton. — Dr. Matt Cronin
(Matt Cronin is a scientist with Northwest Biology Company LLC in Bozeman, Montana and can be contacted at croninm@aol.com).
Camp Pendleton – a bison’s paradise – The Coast News Group
