Wildlife and Fire

Wildlife and Fire (HMUHX)

Location: Custer, SD 57730 Custer County
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Country: United States of America
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N 43° 47.378', W 103° 21.052'

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Inscription
It would seem that a large forest fire would destroy an area for wildlife. However, the Galena Fire has improved much of the Park's wildlife habitat. The fire created many open meadows where grasses and shrubs are now growing. The mixture of meadow and forest created by a large fire provides better food and cover for animals. Initially, Park managers seeded the severely burned areas with quick growing clover to prevent erosion. Now a wide variety of plants can be found throughout the burned area.

Another positive effect of the fire is the increased water flow in area streams. Because grasses and shrubs use less moisture than trees, more water makes its way into the streams. Park managers are using measuring devices called weirs to gauge stream flow. Trout will be stocked when the water flow can support their needs.

Today, Custer State Park is more like the landscape that Lt. Col.George Custer saw on his expedition to the Black Hills in 1874. Those who settled the Hills suppressed wildfires, and slowly the open meadows Custer's expedition photographed became covered with ponderosa pine. The Galena Fire has returned much of Custer State Park to its presettlement appearance.

Details
HM NumberHMUHX
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Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Thursday, October 2nd, 2014 at 12:27pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)13T E 632684 N 4849829
Decimal Degrees43.78963333, -103.35086667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 43° 47.378', W 103° 21.052'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds43° 47' 22.68" N, 103° 21' 3.12" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)605
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 1350-1390 Unnamed Road, Custer SD 57730, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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