"Water was covering the causeway and we could only go so far with horse trailers and trucks. We loaded our horses up and shipped them over on boats. We went over later and spent a rainy and cold night before we started chasing bison," said Urry, of the 1987 adventure that kicked off Utah State Parks' efforts to maintain a healthy herd of publicly owned bison on this island of the Great Salt Lake.

Wranglers have come and gone during the 20 years of the roundup - the last completed Oct. 28 - and the event has changed through the years. But one thing remains the same: Bison are not cattle and if they do not feel like being herded, cowboys and cowgirls may as well turn their horse for the barn.

"When they want to stop, they stop," said volunteer wrangler Dean Berrett of Park City, who has chased bison on Antelope Island the last 16 roundups. "Call it a siesta or whatever, but right around the middle of the day they just lay down. We tried to get some moving during their nap time once and that was a big mistake."

Wrangler way: Robin Watson-Hullinger has been in charge of volunteer wranglers since the inception of the annual bison roundup in 1987. She helped coordinate getting the horses and riders to the island by barge for the first three years, watched the volunteer numbers explode to about 1,000 and then dwindle when helicopters took over the majority of the work on the roundup.

Watson-Hullinger said about 95 percent of the volunteers come from Utah, with Idaho providing most of the rest. Officials started a drawing to limit the number of riders to 450 following an overwhelming turnout of 1,000 volunteers in 1995. But the lottery was only temporary. Volunteer registration for the roundup is open again and about 90 wranglers showed up in late October for this year's event.

Watson-Hullinger said the roundup will remain open to riders 18 and older until demand gets too high and then it will be capped.

The lottery and use of helicopters to round up the bison turned wranglers away from the event until Antelope Island wildlife range manager Steve Bates went back to the old-school horse approach about three years ago.

"There were some years when I didn't see a bison from horseback because the helicopters would come in before us," Berrett said. "They have changed things and it has gone back to an actual roundup rather than just a range ride. I'm glad to actually be doing something again."

Grumps and friends: Some visitors to the island incorrectly assume the herd is tame. Wranglers and biologists know better. The grumpy nature and physical power of bison makes them a dangerous group to herd.

"When that tail goes up you don't screw around; you get out of there," Berrett said. "You never get between a mother and a calf. When they turn toward you or move toward you, it's your signal to get out of there."

Bates said injuries to horse and rider happen at every roundup, but it typically involves a fall from a mount rather than a goring by a bison. Urry likely sustained the first injury in the history of the roundup.

"The roundup had just started and we were waiting behind a hill to keep the herd going in the right direction. My horse fell over on me and broke three of my ribs and I had to be LightFlighted off the island," the North Ogden resident said.

The injury failed to keep Urry from returning to the roundup. And he brought reinforcements.

Kraig and Justin Urry joined their father for about half a dozen roundups, providing a special way for Jim and his sons to share their love of riding.

"It was a totally unique experience that I shared with the boys," Urry said. "We still talk about it quite a bit."

Watson-Hullinger, who also keeps stats when the bison are given their physicals, particularly enjoyed the excitement of the first few years of the roundup, but it was the camaraderie of the annual event that she really came to appreciate.

"You get to see people you don't see on a daily basis. It's fun to get away from the office work environment," she said.

This year's event was special simply because it was the 20th anniversary, but it was a different kind of landmark for Watson-Hullinger. This was the first year that her husband, Jay, wasn't a part of the roundup. Jay, also a state parks employee, passed away earlier this year from cancer.

"We stayed out there and it was like being on a deserted island at times," she said. "He made it fun and it was hard not to have him there this year."

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* BRETT PRETTYMAN can be contacted at brettp@ sltrib.com or 801-257-8902. Send comments about this story to livingeditor@sltrib.com.

Online bison

Visit http://www.sltrib.com/outdoors for a slide show of the roundup.

Antelope Island bison facts

* TWELVE ANIMALS - four bulls, four cows and four calves - were taken to the island by boat Feb. 15, 1893 by William Glassman and John Dooly.

* TODAY'S HERD will be reduced to about 550 after an expected 230 animals are sold through a live auction later this month.

* BISON CALVES weigh between 25 and 40 pounds when born. They are weaned from their mother when they reach about 250 pounds, which usually takes just five to six months.

* THE AVERAGE WEIGHT of a cow bison is 700-900 pounds. A bull weighs between 1,000 and 1,200 pounds.

* FOR GENETIC DIVERSITY, animals from private and public herds in Utah, Nebraska, Montana and Kansas have been introduced on Antelope Island.

* THE UTAH DIVISION OF WILDLIFE RESOURCES allows Once In A Lifetime hunting permit lottery on the island. A resident permit costs $1,105 and there were six total permits, including one nonresident, which cost $2,610, released for this year's hunt, Dec. 4-6.