Badlands National Park in South Dakota Plans a Roughly 5,000-Acre Prescribed Burn Starting October 30, Weather Permitting
Near Interior, Jackson County, South Dakota, Badlands National Park announced on October 29 that it plans to begin the “Big Buffalo” prescribed burn in the northeast part of the park's North Unit as early as October 30, covering approximately 5,000 acres, with the exact start depending on weather and site conditions.
The burn area near Interior is bordered by Big Foot Road, Old Northeast Road and State Highway 240, with natural badlands formations providing containment features. The park said the operation, carried out by the National Park Service with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is intended to maintain healthy mixed-grass prairie and reduce hazardous fuels.
Smoke may be visible in the park during and after the burn and can affect visibility and air quality, and the park directs visitors to check current air quality information before traveling. The notice does not announce a general park closure or a closure of the main visitor routes. Badlands National Park covers about 244,000 acres and contains one of the world's richest fossil beds; prescribed fire is one of the park's long-term grassland management tools, and fire managers will monitor conditions while the work is under way.
Source: GSM America
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Badlands国家公园（南达科他州）。Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经Wikimedia Commons。 / Badlands National Park, South Dakota. Photo by Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
