Smoke passes through ponderosa trees during a prescribed burn.
NPS photo
The term "Black Hills" is a translation from the Lakota term Pahá Sápa. They are named so because when they are viewed from a distance, the hills appear very dark compared with the surrounding plains.
Ponderosa pine tree with forest stands in the background.
NPS photo
The contrast does not end with color. The Great Plains are dominated by grasses, thanks to the semi-arid climate the plains occupy. Grasses are well adapted to the extreme environment of the open plains. The Black Hills, which are higher in elevation than the surrounding plains, provide a cooler, wetter environment that makes the growth of forest stands possible.
Wind Cave National Park occupies the southeastern edge of the Black Hills. It is home to to both prairie and forest environments. While much of the park is open prairie with sparse woody vegetation, these stands of ponderosa pine cover the topographically higher portions of the park.
Black Hills forests are dominated by ponderosa pine. The ponderosa is common to much of western North America, and the Black Hills represent some of their easternmost range. As a drought-tolerant species, it is well-adapted to life in the Black Hills, where rain may abundantly fall some years, but be very absent in other years.
A bull elk resting among the ponderosas.
NPS Photo
The diversity of land cover in the park provides prime habaitat for many animals in the park. Where the forest meets the prairie is called an ecotone, the blending of two habitat types. Animals are often seen along the ecotone, taking advantage of the covered forest and open prairie.
Elk are a great example of an animal which takes advantage of the ecotone. Generally, elk use the covered forest during the day, and graze on the prairie at night.
At Wind Cave National Park, steps are taken to ensure that the ponderosa forests are naturally healthy. In recent years, growing recognition of fire as a natural component of forest health has prompted a prescribed fire program.
Fire promotes forest health by clearing away material. This material may be the accumulation of dead and decaying plant matter, or sapling trees. By clearing away these materials, fire makes more room for a diverse forest understory. The forest understory can be comprised of shrubs and flowering plants, such as the western snowberry. This supports a variety of animals in the forest.
Fire also provides habitat for animals by partially burning mature trees, creating "snags". These dead standing trees attract insects such as longhorned beetles. The beetles become an important food source for birds, such as the northern flicker and black-capped chickadee.
Fire In The Forest
Left image
Over time, young trees and plant remains accumulate on the forest floor.
Credit: NPS photo
Right image
After a fire, forest materials are cleared away, making more room for diverse plants.
Credit: NPS photo
Locations:Acadia National Park, Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, Antietam National Battlefield, Appalachian National Scenic Trail, Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, Bluestone National Scenic River, Booker T Washington National Monument, Catoctin Mountain Park, Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park, Colonial National Historical Park, Crater Lake National Park, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Devils Postpile National Monument, Eisenhower National Historic Site, Fort Necessity National Battlefield, Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, Friendship Hill National Historic Site, Gauley River National Recreation Area, George Washington Memorial Parkway, George Washington Birthplace National Monument, Gettysburg National Military Park, Grand Teton National Park, Haleakalā National Park, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site, Johnstown Flood National Memorial, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Manassas National Battlefield Park, Marsh - Billings - Rockefeller National Historical Park, Minute Man National Historical Park, Monocacy National Battlefield, Morristown National Historical Park, Mount Rainier National Park, National Capital Parks-East, New River Gorge National Park & Preserve, North Cascades National Park, Olympic National Park, Petersburg National Battlefield, Prince William Forest Park, Richmond National Battlefield Park, Rock Creek Park, Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park, Saratoga National Historical Park, Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, Thomas Stone National Historic Site, Valley Forge National Historical Park, Weir Farm National Historical Park, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Parkmore »
Offices:Eastern Rivers and Mountains Inventory & Monitoring Network, Greater Yellowstone Inventory & Monitoring Network, Inventory and Monitoring Division, Mid-Atlantic Inventory & Monitoring Network, National Capital Inventory & Monitoring Network, North Coast and Cascades Inventory & Monitoring Network, Northeast Coastal and Barrier Inventory & Monitoring Network, Northeast Temperate Inventory & Monitoring Network, Pacific Island Inventory & Monitoring Network, Rocky Mountain Inventory & Monitoring Network, Sierra Nevada Inventory & Monitoring Networkmore »
From coast to coast, the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Division is helping park managers improve the health and function of forest ecosystems. From promoting resilient forests in the Northeast, to conserving whitebark pine in the West, to protecting Hawaiian forest birds from avian malaria, scientific partnerships are helping parks to share information, leverage funding sources, and work together for outcomes that extend beyond what any park could accomplish on its own.
Locations:Bandelier National Monument, Blue Ridge Parkway, Cabrillo National Monument, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, Colonial National Historical Park, Denali National Park & Preserve, Dry Tortugas National Park, Fort Pulaski National Monument, Gettysburg National Military Park, Glacier National Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Olympic National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Saratoga National Historical Park, Scotts Bluff National Monument, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, Shenandoah National Park, Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, Zion National Parkmore »
Offices:Cultural Resources, Partnerships, and Science Directorate, Director, Harpers Ferry Center, Museum Management Program
The National Park Service (NPS) was only 26 years old when the United States entered World War II. The young bureau faced very real threats to its mission, with increasing pressure to contribute its natural and cultural resources to the war effort even as its budget and staff were slashed. Under the leadership of Director Newton B. Drury, the NPS was able to do its part for the war while maintaining its public trust responsibilities to the American people.
Locations:Buffalo National River, Effigy Mounds National Monument, Pea Ridge National Military Park, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Voyageurs National Park, Wind Cave National Park
Offices:Archeology Program, Midwest Archeological Center
The Midwest Archeological Center (MWAC) worked with Midwest Region Fire Program to design and carry out experiments to collect information about the effects of fire on various classes of archeological materials. The goals of this project were to assess the fire/archeology interface to provide managers of Midwestern parks with information that will aid in decision-making concerning the stewardship of archeological and natural resources.
Locations:Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park
Offices:Air Resources Division
The interconnectedness of living things is evident in a forest, where lichens act as pollution alarm clocks, and soil fungi help trees survive. Scientists studied just four types of organisms in the national park forest ecosystem to gauge its health.
Locations:Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park
Life on the forest floor is diverse, verdant, and plays a supporting role to the larger, flashier celebrities of the forest—its mature trees. But what happens when the trees don’t come back after fire?
National Park Service fire staff along with firefighters from partnering bureaus/agencies helped with a 1,037-acre prescribed fire in October 2022, near Wind Cave National Park’s headquarters to help reduce the buildup of fuels that could result in a catastrophic wildfire that threatens park structures.
In October 2022, fire crew staff completed the Devils Tower West Side prescribed fire project. Funded $160,000 through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the project occurred on the western boundary of the park east to the park road. Its purpose was to remove the build-up of dead fuels and woody herbaceous growth and to encourage growth of native prairie grasses and forbs.
Locations:Bandelier National Monument, Big Bend National Park, Big Hole National Battlefield, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Chiricahua National Monument, Coronado National Memorial, Crater Lake National Park, Devils Tower National Monument, El Malpais National Monument, El Morro National Monument, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, Glacier National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Great Basin National Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Montezuma Castle National Monument, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Nez Perce National Historical Park, North Cascades National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Saguaro National Park, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Tonto National Monument, Tuzigoot National Monument, Valles Caldera National Preserve, Walnut Canyon National Monument, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, Wind Cave National Park, Wupatki National Monument, Yosemite National Park, Zion National Parkmore »
Offices:Wildland Fire Program
This forest community generally exists in areas with annual rainfall of 25 inches or less. Extensive pure stands of this forest type are found in the southwestern U.S., central Washington and Oregon, southern Idaho and the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Locations:Acadia National Park, Arches National Park, Badlands National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park, Death Valley National Park, Denali National Park & Preserve, Everglades National Park, Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, Glacier National Park, Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Katmai National Park & Preserve, Mount Rainier National Park, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Olympic National Park, Wind Cave National Park, Wrangell - St Elias National Park & Preserve, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Parkmore »
NASA astronauts have quite literally an out-of-this-world view of national parks and take some pretty stellar pictures to share. Travel along with the space station on its journey west to east getting the extreme bird’s eye view of national parks across the country. And one more down-to-earth.
