Ross partnered with Tanka Fund, a Native led non-profit on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Tanka Fund’s mission is to return bison to native land, lives, and economies across North America. Ross provided support to the Tanka Fund through the creation of a promotional storytelling campaign that highlighs Indigenous bison caretakers and the importance of their work to ecosystems and local communities. The photo, video, and writing produced by the project expanded Tanka Fund’s donor pool, exemplifying the positive social and conservation benefits of regenerative bison grazing, and build collaborative partnerships with tribal governments, federal agencies, NGOs, and researchers to restore bison on the Great Plains. Additionally, Ross explored the carbon sequestration potential of bison grazing, assisted bison ranchers with conservation plans for their herds, and helped grow the Tanka Regenerative Agriculture Co-op, which develops sustainable finance models for bison ranching.
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Ross Martin, Western Resource Fellow | Ross is a Masters of Environmental Management candidate at the Yale School of the Environment. His focus is on wildlife coexistence, ecosystem connectivity, environmental sociology, and the repopulation of bison in North America. Prior to graduate school, he worked in public policy, decarbonization campaigns, grassroots activism, and the conservation of wildlife in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. As a Western Resource Fellow, Ross will work with Tanka Fund, a South Dakota nonprofit returning bison to native lands, lives and economies in the American West. See what Ross has been up to. | Blog