Oglala National Grassland

Oglala National Grassland
Oglala National Grassland
LocationSioux County and Dawes County, Nebraska, USA
Nearest cityCrawford, NE
Coordinates42°54′54″N 103°38′13″W / 42.915°N 103.637°W / 42.915; -103.637[1]
Area94,520 acres (382.5 km2)[2]
Governing bodyU.S. Forest Service
WebsiteOglala National Grassland

The Oglala National Grassland is a United States National Grassland in the northwest corner of Nebraska.[3] It is in northern Sioux and northwestern Dawes counties, on the borders with South Dakota and Wyoming. It is 94,520 acres (38,250 ha) in size and is one of the small handful of National Grasslands administered by the US Department of Agriculture's Forest Service.[2] It is managed by the U.S. Forest Service together with the Nebraska and Samuel R. McKelvie National Forests and the Buffalo Gap and Fort Pierre National Grasslands from common offices in Chadron, Nebraska.[4][5]

Setting

The Oglala National Grassland is a region of shortgrass prairie "over badlands of eroded clay and Cretaceous-age Pierre shale."[6][7] Oglala National Grassland is unique in that it is Nebraska's only region of the Pierre Shale.[8]

Deciduous trees common to the Oglala National Grassland include the cottonwood tree, the green ash tree, and the willow tree.[9]

Over one hundred birds and fifty mammals have been observed in the Oglala National Grassland.[9] The historian Francis Moul (1940-2023) wrote:[9]

Sensitive species include the finged myotis bat, black-tailed prairie dog, swift fox, gerruginous hawk with one to three active nests per year, norther harrier, long-billed curlew with several colonies in pastures, burrowing owl, migrating American peregrine falcon, short-eared owl, loggerhead shrike, McCown's and chestnut-collared longspur, and northern leopard frog. More common species include mule and whitetailed deer, pronghorn, coyote, wild turkey, elk and big horn sheep on Round Top, and sharp-tailed grouse with scattered leks, or dancing grounds.[9]

The Oglala National Grassland includes the native range of the American bison.[10]

The Civilian Conservation, during the 1930s, built around one hundred ponds and a few reservoirs for livestock on the Oglala National Grassland.[9]

Climate and geology

Oglala National Grassland has a semi-arid climate with temperatures that vary.[11] Precipitation is of a light nature.[11]

The region experienced volcanic ash deposits in the Eocene and Piacenzian periods.[11]

Attractions

Oglala National Grassland is home to some of the most striking badlands formations in Toadstool Geologic Park,[12] near Crawford, Nebraska and Whitney, Nebraska.

The Hudson-Meng Bison Kill, also located on the grassland, is an archaeological excavation in progress.

The Warbonnet Battlefield Monument, commemorating the 1876 Battle of Warbonnet Creek, is located in Oglala National Grassland on Montrose Road.[13]

The grassland also contains the Agate, Bordgate, and Rock Bass reservoirs.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Oglala National Grassland". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Land Areas of the National Forest System". U.S. Forest Service. January 2013. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
  3. ^ Nebraska Blue Book. Nebraska Legislative Council. 1970. p. 318. The Oglala National Grassland is located in the extreme northwest corner of Nebraska near the Pine Ridge District and this unit is administered through a grazing ...
  4. ^ Flat Water: A History of Nebraska and Its Water. Conservation and Survey Division, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska–Lincoln. 1993. p. 200. ISBN 978-1-56161-003-7. Oglala National Grassland, located in extreme northwest Nebraska, is one of only 19 national grasslands administered by the U.S. Forest Service.
  5. ^ "Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands". U.S. Forest Service. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
  6. ^ Johnsgard, Paul (October 9, 2021). "The Sandhill Crane State: A Naturalist's Guide to Nebraska". Zea Books: 24. doi:10.32873/unl.dc.zea.1305.
  7. ^ Rapp, Jr., William F. (2005). "Suggested Areas for Study". The Nebraska Bird Review. 73 (4): 158.
  8. ^ Steele, Colleen; Hallum, Doug; Terry, Dennis O.; Leite, Michael; Sibray, Steve; Balmat, Jennifer (2019). Exploring the Northwest Margin of the High Plains Aquifer: Structure, Depositional History and Hydrogeology. Nebraska Geological Society. p. 3.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Moul, Francis (January 1, 2006). The National Grasslands: A Guide to America's Undiscovered Treasures. University of Nebraska Press. p. 86. ISBN 978-0-8032-0546-8.
  10. ^ Defenders, Volume 71. Defenders of Wildlife. 1996. p. 12. Oglala National Grassland, which is in the Nebraska National Forest and thus near the former heartland of the bison range
  11. ^ a b c Brookins, Sarah (October 29, 2021). Texture and Mineralogy: How Soil Characteristics Help to Understand Soil Formationtion. University of Colorado Boulder. p. 20-21.
  12. ^ "Toadstool Geologic Park, Oglala National Grassland". Take My Trip. Archived from the original on June 22, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  13. ^ "Warbonnet Battlefield Monument". Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands. Retrieved June 5, 2016.

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