By Pat Hammert/Staff Writer El Reno will be moving its eight head of buffalo soon from their lake home to the wider acres of Concho Hill. The small herd will join about 200 bison bulls, heifers, newborns and yearlings that graze more than 1,000 acres at Concho under the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes farm and ranch program. El Reno City Council approved the move at last week’s meeting. Last month, the Council postponed the decision on a recommedation from the parks board that requested El Reno Federal Correctional Institution or USDA Grazinglands Research Station at Fort Reno be polled, just in case they wanted the animals. But a letter from FCI warden Joseph Scibana declined the offer while saying the “historical and cultural aspects of your proposal is enticing.” His concerns, he said, centered around the buffalo’s “nature as an unpredictable animal, the inflexibility we have in mixing them with our livestock, hardships that could evolve from continual fence maintenance and lack of adequate grazing space and veterinary upkeep.” The acting lab director at Grazinglands declined as well because of lack of resources needed to confine, control and maintain a herd. The eight animals have been penned in on 15 acres of grassland near Lake El Reno. A district conservationist recently said the acreage, which is described as overgrazed, was not adequate for the animals to thrive. A 10-member C&A ranch crew tends to the herd, said Chris Yellow Eagle, program coordinator. The program’s goal is to maintain the herd at about 200, culling out animals to provide the low-fat nutrient-rich bison meat to the Tribes’ elderly and sell some to restaurants and grocery chains. A thriving commercial industry began about 20 years ago. Buffalo can weigh in at 900 to 1,800 pounds and live as long as 40 years. The city has penned up a certain number of buffalo since 1949, first along state Highway 66 near Adams Park and then moving them to a pen by the lake several years ago. Some on the parks board wanted to keep a minimum number, moving the animals to a more suitable spot for grazing and a more visible spot for tourism. The group of bison now consists of five bulls, two females and a 9-month old female. De-worming and ear-tagging must be done before the animals are moved to Concho.