Yakima Valley College, in collaboration with the Cowiche Canyon Conservancy, will continue its 2025 Winter Talk Series with a presentation on restoring and managing a local buffalo herd this February. The series explores current issues related to the Yakima Valley region’s environment and ecosystems and features guest lecturers who are subject matter experts in a variety of disciplines. Admission is free and open to the community.
Reconnecting with Buffalo: Restoring and Managing a Local Buffalo Herd
Presenters: Kristi Olney, wildlife biologist and Darwin Sockzehigh, herd manager
Tuesday, February 4, 2025 • 7:00 p.m. • YVC Kaminski Conference Center, 1704 W. Nob
Hill Blvd., Building #38
Kristi Olney and Darwin Sockzehigh will share their experiences managing a herd of nearly 200 buffalo as part of the Yakama Nation Buffalo Project. Olney, a big game biologist with Yakama Nation, will talk about buffalo behavior, their benefits to the land, the story of the current herd, and how an Intertribal program is helping to restore the buffalo and cultural connections. Sockzehigh, the Herd Manager, will describe the challenges and successes of managing a local herd of buffalo to support Yakama Nation food sovereignty.
About the Speakers
Wildlife Biologist Kristi Olney is a member of the Yakama Nation and a descendant
of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. She grew up on the Warm Springs Reservation
in Oregon. Olney started working for the Yakama Nation Wildlife Program as a seasonal
technician in 2012. After receiving a bachelor’s degree, she started full time with
the program in 2017 and in 2020 became head of the big game program where she manages
the big game species and the buffalo program.
Herd Manager Darwin Sockzehigh is a member of the Yakama Nation, Shoshoni-Bannock descendent and the youngest of two. He started working for the Yakama Nation Wildlife Program in 1992 and has over 30 years of experience working with wildlife. He has lived his whole life on the Yakama Reservation, and has gained knowledge from real-life experiences with ranching, hunting, cowboying and trapping. In 2018, Sockzehigh became the bison herd manager for the Yakama Nation Buffalo Project.
Cowiche Canyon Conservancy is a local non-profit organization conserving shrub-steppe habitat and connecting people to the land through recreation and education programs. CCC owns and manages 7,000 acres of land and offers over 40 miles of trails for non-motorized recreation. For more information, go to cowichecanyon.org or contact CCC at (509) 248-1065 or info@cowichecanyon.org.
Yakima Valley College is a public, two-year institution of higher education dedicated to strengthening our communities by providing opportunities for economic mobility, personal enrichment and sociocultural engagement. YVC offers five bachelor of applied science degrees, 55 associate degrees and more than 100 certificate of achievement programs at campuses in Yakima and Grandview and learning centers in Ellensburg and Toppenish. YVC students can enroll in programs in lower division arts and sciences, professional and technical education, adult basic education and English Language Acquisition. For more information about Yakima Valley College, go to yvcc.edu.