For California bison that need water, a crowd-funding campaign

Kathy and Ken Lindner of Lindner Bison started raising bison 16 years ago -- grass-fed cattle that roam pastures in Lassen County in Northern California near the Nevada border. The bison graze lush pasture nourished by a 600-foot-deep irrigation water well. But, according to the Lindners, that well has dried up.

In April the 34-year-old water well for the 225-acre ranch failed. The aquifer provided water for 120 acres of pasture and an additional 100 acres for winter hay, but without it, the grass pastures and hay crop have died.

“We have to feed bison 1,600 pounds of hay a day at a cost of $200 a ton,” Ken Lindner said in a statement. “For this reason, expenses are triple what they normally are and without water the ranch will die.”

Without repairing or replacing the well, the Lindners say they will have to sell the bison and stop operations at the ranch. Unable to cover the cost of the repairs, they launched a crowdfunding campaign at indiegogo.com to raise $150,000 by Jan. 20 to fix or replace the irrigation well. “It is a make or break situation for us,” said Kathy Lindner.

Shoppers at the Santa Monica or Hollywood farmers markets may have seen the Lindners’ bison steaks, roasts and burgers at the Lindner Bison stand. Bison, whose flavor is comparable to beef, is the only roaming animal indigenous to North America, where there are about 350,000 animals.

“Most people don’t know that 80% of bison are placed in feedlots,” said Ken Lindner. “Our supporters are helping to ensure that these animals can be raised with the dignity and respect that they deserve.”

The Lindner Bison indiegogo “Water for Bison” campaign is at https://igg.me/at/waterforbison.

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