Red Canyon Ranch bison meat store opens in town

Shannon Lawson and her family have opened the Red Canyon Ranch Bison Store located at 415 Park Street next to Taco John's. Lawson is a third generation bison rancher who is originally from Mendocino County, Calif., but they have been in Thermopolis for the past four years.

Lawson's father bought the Red Canyon Ranch in 2020 from Michael and Kathleen Gear. Shannon and her husband moved out to Wyoming to run it. Lawson said, "We've been building up our herd, and we are finally opening our store here in town. We officially opened on June 4."

Their hours of operation are Tuesday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. and Saturday's 12:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. Lawson added, "We're going to be at the farmer's market every Saturday morning." 

Regarding their bison meat, Lawson said, "We are predominantly grass fed. We do a little bit of a grain finish, but what's really nice about our bison, I think, is they're never in feedlots. They are pasture free roaming animals."

Regarding how fresh their harvesting is to the countertop, Lawson said, "It's about two weeks. All of our animals are processed at Wyoming Legacy Meats in Cody and then we pick it up there. You can pretty much get the same cuts that you can with beef."

For their current prices per pound, ground bison is $10.85, bison brisket is $9.82, tri-tip is $17.38, short ribs are $11.29, ribeye steak is $27.12 and tenderloin steak is $31.95. They also sell liver, heart and tongue.

Lawson said, "Our prices haven't changed in four years even though the costs of things have gone up."

She added, "We're just really excited to be here and to provide local bison meat."

For more information, contact them at 864-5578 or at redcanyonbison@gmail.com

Information from their website

About the bison industry

The modern bison industry grew out of the need and desire to save the species from extinction. As bison were rapidly disappearing from the wild, a few ranchers and conservationists decided to take action. It's estimated that less than 1,000 bison existed prior to 1900 before efforts were made to preserve and restore the species.

Today, the number of bison in the United States residing on private ranches and farms is over half a million, with an additional 30,000 existing on environmental and government preserves. Roughly 15,000 bison are considered wild, free-range bison not primarily confined by fences.

Though the current population is approximately only 1-2% of its historic numbers, they are not considered endangered or at risk for extinction. Careful breeding practices have preserved the herds' genetic diversity, and a plentiful number of bison (over 60,000) are safely and sustainably harvested every year.

While the popularity of bison as a food source increases every year, it is still considered a small niche in the marketplace, especially compared to beef. Whereas over 60,000 bison are harvested every year, the US beef industry vastly overshadows that amount, at about 125,000 per day.

According to the 2017 USDA Census of Agriculture, there are 1,775 private U.S. ranches and farms raising bison.

The family also owns J Bar S Ranch in Ukiah, Calif. According to their website, instead of getting more bison at their California ranch, they expanded by acquiring Red Canyon Ranch in Wyoming and are happy to incorporate it into the J Bar S Ranch family.