Denver’s bison herd at Genesee Park has had a prolific year, attracting attention for its 20 calves sired by a young bull.
The high yield is thanks to a change in breeding strategy, said Matt Brown, the Denver Mountain Parks operations supervisor who helps oversee the herd at Genesee and another at Daniels Park, where he lives on-site.
Instead of letting Edson, the young, 1,700-pound bull who sired this season’s calves, roam alone among the herd, caretakers introduced another, younger bull to challenge Edson.
“Younger bulls and additional male presence will keep him focused on as many cows as he can,” Brown said.
Visitors might not always see the herd from nearby Interstate 70, as it has 504 acres to graze throughout Genesee Park, but the park is starting renovations totaling $6.8 million. The improvements will add more overlooks for visitors to see the bison and enjoy the area’s other offerings.
“People will be able to better see the bison in their natural environment, and that’s the key,” Brown said.
The improvements are part of the Genesee Master Plan drawn up in 2013 for the park’s 100th anniversary. Genesee is the oldest and, at 2,413 acres, the largest park in the Denver Mountain Park system.
“The goal of that was to enhance visitor experience, enhance safety and increase the variety of activities available in Genesee,” Denver Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Angela Casias said of the master plan.
The improvements will happen in phases, starting this fall with the construction of a shelter and restrooms near the park’s ropes challenge course, which is typically used for youth and corporate team-building retreats but is open to the public for groups of eight or more. Casias said Denver plans to market it more to private use as the improvements are made.
Also coming this fall are interpretive signs along I-70 that will tell visitors the history of Denver Mountain Parks and points of interest in the area.
These projects are happening with the help of two grants totaling $354,000 from Great Outdoors Colorado, Casias said.
Other projects are in the design phase, such as 3 miles of new trails near Chief Hosa campground (which should be finished by summer 2015), an improved buffalo overlook and three new ones.
One of the new overlooks is planned for north of the highway on Stapleton Drive. Another will be near the Patrick House, which was built in 1860 and is currently the private residence of the herd’s primary caretaker; it is also near the bison’s food and water station. A third overlook is planned for the top of Genesee Mountain. The existing overlook at the I-70 Genesee exit will be improved.
Denver also is allowing the Colorado Department of Transportation to use some of the park’s property for a paved bike path between the I-70 Genesee and Evergreen Parkway exits. That project has been in the works for a few years, and CDOT public information officer Bob Wilson said it has been approved. However, it is in need of more funding before it can begin, perhaps sometime in 2015.
Brown said the bison are a big draw for the park, and he hopes the additional overlooks will get people out to explore everything else.
For him, though, the bison are the best part.
“They’re an amazing animal,” he said. “For being captive, they still revert to their wild nature.”
Josie Klemaier: 303-954-2465, jklemaier@denverpost.com, twitter.com/josieklemaier
Bison herd facts• Edson the bull weighs 1,700 pounds. Caretakers expect him to mature to around 2,200 pounds.
• The average cow weighs 900 pounds.
• 25 cows, 20 calves and two bulls at Genesee Park
• 20 cows, 14 calves and two bulls at Daniels Park
• Genesee’s grazing acreage is 504 acres.
• Daniels Park has 860 acres of grazing land.
