Buffalo Gap National Grassland: South Dakota's Vast Prairie Sanctuary

Buffalo Gap National Grassland sprawls across 550,000+ acres in southwestern South Dakota (Harding, Perkins, Meade counties)—the largest National Grassland in the US system. Managed by the US Forest Service (Dakota Prairie Grasslands), it is a mosaic of mixed-grass prairie, badlands topography, and rich human history.

Landscape & Geology

• 10 Discontiguous Units within the Missouri Plateau.
• Elevation: 2,480–3,045 ft (avg. 2,700 ft).
• Dominant Vegetation: Little bluestem, western wheatgrass, needle-and-thread, buffalograss, diverse forbs.
• Namesake: "Buffalo Gap"—a 20-mi long, 1–4 mi wide erosional valley carved by Buffalo Creek through soft sandstone, flanked by steep badlands walls (north/west) and gentler slopes (south/east). Numerous side canyons.

History: From Dust Bowl to Restoration

• 1870s–80s: Cattlemen & homesteaders settle.
• 1930s: Overgrazing + drought → Dust Bowl devastation.
• 1930s–50s: Federal government acquires submarginal lands (Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act).
• 1960: Designated National Grassland; multiple-use management (grazing, recreation, wildlife, minerals).

Wildlife Diversity

• Mammals: Pronghorn (abundant), mule/white-tailed deer, coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions, prairie dogs (keystone), badgers, rattlesnakes.
• Birds: Winter raptors (golden/bald eagles, ferruginous hawks), grassland songbirds, sharptail grouse.
• Threatened/Endangered: Black-footed ferret (reintroduced), mountain plover, swift fox, American burying beetle, western prairie fringed orchid.

Recreation: Wide Open, Year-Round

• Hunting: Pronghorn, deer, prairie dog (varmint), waterfowl (stock ponds).
• Fishing: Stocked ponds, Buffalo Creek.
• Non-Motorized: Hiking, birding, photography, horseback riding, mountain biking.
• Motorized: OHV/ATV on designated routes (Travel Management Plan).
• Target Shooting: Designated areas.
• Synergy: Adjoins Black Hills National Forest and Custer State Park — seamless landscape-scale access.

Cultural Resources: 13,000 Years of Human Story

• Paleo-Indian: Clovis/Folsom sites (13,000 BP).
• Archaic/Late Prehistoric: Campsites, hunting blinds, quarries, rock art.
• Historic: Deadwood Gulch (1870s gold rush camp), military sites (Indian Wars), cattle trails, homesteads, sheep camps.
• Hundreds of recorded sites; ongoing tribal consultation (Lakota, Cheyenne, Arapaho).

Significance

Buffalo Gap embodies the Great Plains conservation ethic: restoring degraded land to ecological function while honoring working landscapes (grazing) and deep time. It is a living laboratory of resilience—where bison once thundered, pronghorn now sprint, and humans learn to dwell lightly on the grass.