Gleason Bison: Raising Bison

In 2010, Sarah Gleason discovered that she wanted to raise bison.

She was living in Durango and working as a marketing assistant for Zuke’s (yes, the dog treat company), and she became interested in agriculture and livestock.

“I visited a bunch of bison operations,” she says, “and I was hooked.”

Throughout the process, she discovered holistic management, which is a decision-making framework that works in sync with nature to raise animals in a way that is sustainable for the land, animals, and people. Shortly thereafter, Sarah was introduced to Holistic Management International—an organization based in Albuquerque that provides education and training for ranchers and farmers.

She began holistic management training, which is where she met the SBDC’s consultant, Cindy Dvergsten. “That connection launched me on the trajectory I am on now by opening my eyes to the world of managing land and livestock regeneratively.”

But, it would take 10 years for Sarah to make her dream a reality.

In 2012, she went on to work in marketing for Whole Foods before taking a position with the Savory Institute, which was started by Allan Savory, the founder of holistic management. “I traveled the world meeting with farmers and ranchers who were managing their land regeneratively and experiencing incredible results.”

In 2020, Sarah returned to Durango and started Gleason Bison, a 900-acre holistically managed bison ranch in Hesperus. It’s a cow-calf herd, so she sells calves and a meat label. Locally, Gleason Bison meat is sold at Sunnyside Meats and James Ranch. It’s also the only bison meat available from www.REPprovisions.com, where it can be purchased as a subscription and shipped nationally for free.

Sarah understands that relationships have been pivotal to helping her launch her business and overcome a number of obstacles.

“Anytime you make a career shift, it’s challenging,” she says. “And, livestock and agriculture is historically male dominated, so beginning brand new as a female in this industry comes with a unique set of challenges. Of course, the biggest barrier to starting a ranch is getting your hands on cash and capital for land and infrastructure. Partnerships are essential, and the SBDC creates and fosters those relationships.”

Recently, Sarah has been partnering with students at Fort Lewis College, and she was featured in FLC Voices, the campus magazine. She enjoys working with students and teaching them methods and best practices of holistic management.

For anyone who is interested in starting their own business or ranch, she offers this advice, “At the end of the day, it’s all about relationships. With enough human creativity and the right partners, absolutely anything is possible.”

Soundscapes International

By Malia Durbano Ross Barrable an acoustic sculptor attended the Leading Edge for Entrepreneur’s Class offered by the SBDC in the winter of 2010 because, “I wanted to learn about business and branding and how to market my wind harps.” Barrable doesn’t have a store front and recognizes that most of the sales for his high ticket items come by building relationships with potential clients. Barrable creates, “Contemporary sound sculptures, or wind harps, fabricated out

Read More »
River Rim Teardrop Trailers

By Malia Durbano Tim Rossiter and his wife Peg, love to camp and hike. They bought a cargo trailer and turned it into a camper. In researching their design, they discovered a “big movement for people who wanted a small footprint.” In March of 2013, they started researching and planning a design for a teardrop camper. Their vision was to create a custom product with quality materials and craftsmanship. The Rossiters met with Joe Keck

Read More »
Toast Mobile Lounge

Carol Clark was an event planner. She coordinated events such as Oktoberfest, the Durango Farmers Market and the Four Corner’s Green Living Expo. With an eye for detail, Carol noticed sizeable crowds but a lack of food vendors to feed them all. This perceived need appeared to be a business opportunity. In 2012, Carol took her idea to pair event planning and mobile food truck services to the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Fort

Read More »
Pagosa Verde

Pagosa Verde is the only Public/Private partnership in the State of Colorado for geothermal development. It involves Pagosa Verde, a privately owned business, the United States Department of Energy, the Colorado Energy Office, the Town of Pagosa Springs and Archuleta County. This unique collaboration also combines technical assistance and funding from the Southwest Colorado Small Business Development Center and Region 9 Economic Development District of SW Colorado coming together to assist in the development of

Read More »
PJ’s Fine Bamboo Rods

There’s nothing like serving a niche of a niche industry . . . which is exactly what PJ and Rosanna Dufour have set out to do. Paul “PJ” Dufour has been an avid fly fisherman all his life. A retired carpenter by trade, he discovered the art of handcrafting custom bamboo fly rods years ago. What began as a hobby turned into a business in 2020, and PJ’s Fine Bamboo Rods was born. “Fly fishing is already a

Read More »
Chimayo

Michael Lutfy and his wife, Biergitte, did research for years before they purchased, renovated and opened the Chimayo Restaurant on Main Avenue in Durango. Michael started working in his Uncle’s restaurant when he was 12 years old. He worked his way through college as a chef, and then worked as an Executive Chef for a large restaurant in downtown Los Angeles for many years. Desiring to change careers and become a writer, and then an

Read More »
Skip to content