Conservation and Prairies
Conservation
General management of our public lands in our region (National Grasslands and Forests, BLM, Parks and Refuges).
Protection of roadless and wild areas, especially Sand Creek Roadless Area (Black Hills National Forest) in Wyoming.
Protection of rivers and wetland habitat, especially the Missouri River, Cheyenne River, Sand Creek/ Belle Fourche River, and White River drainages.
Protection of wildlife and plant species-at-risk including state and federal listed species and Forest Service sensitive species. These include: piping plover, interior least tern, sturgeon chub, sage grouse, mountain plover, six species of land snail, black-footed ferret, prairie dog, swift fox, Black Hills fishes (lake chub, fine-scaled dace etc.), goshawk, dipper, jumping mice, black-backed, Lewis, and northern three-toed woodpecker, brown creeper, and pygmy nuthatch.
Protection of imperiled ecosystems/habitat in our region, especially the prairie dog ecosystem and old growth forest.
Monitoring wildlife control programs, such as Rapid City deer or SD blackbirds kill plans, aerial hunting of predators, mountain lion and prairie dog management plans.
Protecting the Black Hills and Custer National Forest from depredations of mining.
Protection of water quality in SD and Black Hills of Wyoming.
Watchdogging major development plans such as Rosebud’s hog farm, DME Railroad expansion or coal bed methane development in Wyoming.
Supporting environmental justice for minority people of SD.
Northern Plains Conservation Network – long term project to restore large grassland ecosystems in the Northern Great Plains.
Prairies
The prairies and grasslands of western South Dakota include some of the best remaining grasslands in North America. For example, Badlands National Park is often reported as the largest remaining tract of protected prairie in the United States. South Dakota’s grasslands support many imperiled species such as black-footed ferrets, prairie dogs, and several species of butterfly.