You can still hear them rumble — powerful footsteps shaking the plains.
Fifteen miles south of the Wyoming-Colorado border, 10 miles north of Fort Collins, bison of the Great Plains roam free.
The North American bison can weigh up to 2,000 pounds and stand 10 feet tall. It is no wonder why Platte River Power Authority chose it as its logo.
Platte River CEO and board director Jason Frisbie said, “resilient and strong” are the qualities with which Platte River wanted to be associated.
When choosing its logo back in the late 1990s, Platte River looked to its bison ranch. The herd was located at Rawhide Power Plant, named after the land it was built on: Rawhide Flatts.
But wait: Why would a power plant own a bison ranch?
The unique venture stems from a partnership between Platte River’s first CEO Al Hamilton and CSU. Together they transported a bison herd from Wray, Colo. to the 15,000 acres at the plant.
The project was designed to introduce sustainable imagery to Platte River and to partner with locals to create something more than just power along with the company’s promises to continue to be one of the cleanest and most efficient power companies in the United States.
Platte River Power Authority will be 90% carbon-free by 2030, according to Frisbie, and will shut down all of their coal-fired power plants and replace them with wind, solar, battery, and natural-gas energy.
The wishes of Hamilton to create a bison herd, according to Frisbie, transformed into “something that nobody thought would happen.”
“It became our company logo,” states Frisbie.
On a short-term basis, Platte River goes out of its way to organize its internal structure to achieve the big goals of affordable, renewable energy, said Frisbie.
“We’ve always wanted to be a premier employer in Northern Colorado since day one,” he said. He’s been with Platte River for 42 years, starting in 1982 as a site facilities manager.
Frisbie said he stayed because of the company’s welcoming environment, work culture, and the opportunity to advance. Throughout his career, he worked in various positions, including managing the bison herd.
Another unique aspect of Platte River Power Authority is its ownership structure is they are owned by the cities it serves.
“Frankly, we wouldn’t be decarbonizing our portfolio except we are owned by four cities who asked us who,” said Frisbie.
The mayors of Fort Collins, Longmont, Loveland, and Estes Park all attend monthly meetings with Frisbie and the rest of the board at Platte River Power Authority.
The sentiment of oneness with its surrounding land is shared by the former Native Americans of the Northern Colorado Area.
Judy Waddell, FRCC professor, teaches Colorado History and Native American History explains the importance of the bison to Native Americans.
“The tribes are aware of the importance bison have to the land they graze. Their reverence of the bison is also a reverence of the land,” Waddell said.
The Utes long ago used the land of Rawhide Flats to hunt for bison and to sustain their nomadic communities.
Although the massacre of the North American bison left its mark on Colorado, 15 miles from the state line, you can still hear them rumbling.
