November 2025 • Nebraskaland 25
to here."
The drovers on horseback, which at
fi rst numbered about 60 but dropped
to about a dozen with the cold temps,
provided a spectacle to observers
as they moved the cattle through
Valentine and other towns along U.S.
Highway 20. About 60 other cattle,
bulls and calves, were moved to the
park by trailer.
Today, the 22,000-acre park
runs about 125 cows with the
herd totaling about 200. They're
complemented by the resident
bison and wild pronghorn, muleys,
whitetails and other fauna at the
park.
"From the end of May through
July, we have them in seven diff erent
pastures so we can put one bull with
them," Lemmon said. "Once the
breeding season is over, we put them
down by the golf course near Crawford.
But, at all times, we have the show
steers near the water towers, which
have grown big horns and look good in
pictures."
A true taste of the Wild West, and
just one more picturesque feature for a
park that is full of them.
N
LEFT: Park employees and volunteers
round up cattle from the rugged Pine
Ridge terrain in late fall.
BELOW: Drovers move cattle from
Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge
through Valentine during the 171-mile
journey to Fort Robinson in
November 2000.
BOB GRIER, NEBRASKALAND
