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Climate Impacts within Badlands National Park
- vegetation? -- water supply, temperature, exposure to direct sunlight, wildfires
- animal activity? -- too hot during the day for animal to be out and about, effects on climate sensitive species
- tourism season shift? -- too hot, too wet, etc.
"According to the Köppen climate classification system, Badlands National Park has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa)."
- followed by climate table showing all-time highs, all-time lows, and averages for temperature and precipitation (including precipitation type) organized by month
NPS website for Badlands says that climate change is expected to alter the bird populations within the park, as the park is home to about 23 climate sensitive species, 16 of which could become extirpated within the park by 2050.
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/climatechange/upload/BADL_2018_Birds_-_CC_508Compliant.pdf
"Scenario planning and ecological simulation modeling for BADL began with selection of four climate projections from a set of 36. Each projection describes coherent, scientifically plausible climatic conditions for the coming decades (through 2050)."
no-gainer, no-regrets, and no-brainer management styles (broad, do not cover specific management techniques) -- "‘No-gainers’ are current actions that are unlikely to be beneficial for achieving desired outcomes under any future scenario. ‘No-brainers’ are currently implemented actions that are likely to be beneficial going forward. ‘No regrets’ are new actions that are likely to be successful in achieving desired outcomes under all future scenarios"
https://www.nps.gov/badl/upload/BADL_Climate_Scenarios_Brief.pdf
"South Dakota is projected to see an increase in severity of widespread summer drought of approximately 75 percent by 2050."
https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-09/documents/climate-change-sd.pdf
https://usafacts.org/issues/climate/state/south-dakota/county/oglala-lakota-county#climate
https://usafacts.org/issues/climate/state/south-dakota/county/pennington-county#climate
https://usafacts.org/issues/climate/state/south-dakota/county/jackson-county#climate
https://mrcc.purdue.edu/mw_climate/climateTrends.jsp
By 2050, the NPS predicts that Badlands National Park will have different conditions than are currently felt in the park -- including increasing or decreasing temperatures, changes in quantity of total spring precipitation, potential delays in the start of spring within the park, and various increasing frequency of heavy precipitation events. It is projected that South Dakota will experience increasing likelihoods of widespread summer drought within the same time frame (2050). On average, the counties of Oglala, Pennington, and Jackson (the three main counties that Badlands National Park occupies) have seen a gradual shift of monthly and annual temperatures between 1901 and 2021, leading to a warmer, less-wet environment [1]. Current climate predictions developed by the NPS have allowed Badlands National Park to develop several management techniques preparing the park for different climate scenarios, each filed under "no-gainer", "no-regrets", or "no-brainer" management styles. According to the NPS Climate Scenarios brief for Badlands National Park, a "no-gainer" is a current action that are not likely to achieve desired outcomes in any given future scenario. A "no-regrets" management style implements new actions that are likely to be successful in management of all potential future scenarios. "No-brainer" management involves maintaining current management practices that are likely to be beneficial, but aren't necessarily the ideal practice. The NPS Climate Scenario brief for Badlands did not give specific management practices being implemented within the park.
Current climate trends for the counties in which Badlands National Park holds territory are as follows:
Oglala County, SD
Based on data presented by USA Facts (link), Oglala County has gradually seen a monthly shift between 1901 and 2021 in which temperatures have moved from the "cooler" side of an average spectrum to the "warmer" side of the average spectrum, including October through January. Oglala County has not experienced serious changes in amount of precipitation, and yearly averages have begun to level out between wet and dry.
Jackson County, SD
Based on data presented by USA Facts (link), between 1901 and 2021 Jackson County has experienced a narrower range of temperatures, with averages leaning towards warming temperatures, including October through January. Additionally, monthly precipitation levels have gradually increased over the same time frame.
Pennington County, SD
Based on data presented by USA Facts (link), Pennington County has seen a gradual increase in monthly average temperature between 1901 and 2021, with temperature rangers becoming more narrow and shifting towards the "warmer" side of an average temperature spectrum, including October through January. Pennington county has not experienced serious changes in precipitation, and yearly averages have begun to level out between wet and dry.
FINAL CHANGES/PUBLISHING
Climate Change
editBy 2050, the NPS predicts that Badlands National Park will have different conditions than are currently felt in the park -- including increasing or decreasing temperatures, changes in quantity of total spring precipitation, potential delays in the start of spring within the park, and various increasing frequencies of heavy precipitation events.[1] It is projected that South Dakota will experience increasing likelihoods of widespread summer drought within the same time frame (2050).[2] On average, the counties of Oglala, Pennington, and Jackson (the three main counties that Badlands National Park occupies) have seen a gradual shift of monthly and annual temperatures between 1901 and 2021, leading to a warmer, less-wet environment.[3]
Current climate predictions developed by the NPS have allowed Badlands National Park to develop several management techniques preparing the park for different climate scenarios, each filed under "no-gainer", "no-regrets", or "no-brainer" management styles. According to the NPS Climate Scenarios brief for Badlands National Park, a "no-gainer" is a current action that is not likely to achieve desired outcomes in any given future scenario. A "no-regrets" management style implements new actions that are likely to be successful in management of all potential future scenarios. "No-brainer" management involves maintaining current management practices that are likely to be beneficial, but aren't necessarily ideal. Climate Change management within the park primarily focuses on native vegetation, bison populations, species rehabilitation, archeological and paleontological preservation, and infrastructure and geohazards. Management plans for these values are primarily under the categories "no-regrets" and "no-brainer".[4]
Badlands National Park
editWildlife
editNotable animals that inhabit the park include:[5] badger, bighorn sheep, bison, black-billed magpie, black-footed ferret, black-tailed prairie dog, bobcat, coyote, elk, mule deer, pronghorn, prairie rattlesnake, porcupine, swift fox, and white-tailed deer.[6]
-- Badlands National Park is home to many notable megafauna, including bison, the black-footed ferret, the whooping crane, pronghorn, and porcupine.
Other Animals
Mammals: Birds:
- badger - coyote - black-billed magpie
-bighorn sheep - elk
-black-tailed prairie dog - mule deer
-bobcat - swift fox
- white-tailed deer
Herps (Reptiles and Amphibians):
- prairie rattlesnake
- Wildlife in the park
-
Prairie dogs -
Bighorn sheep -
Bison bull
In 1963, 50 bison from Theodore Roosevelt National Park were released into the parkland. The herd has grown to over 1,200 animals. [7] The Bighorn sheep population has increased over the last decade to a total of 233. [8]
Endangered Species:
edit-
Whooping Crane -
Black-footed ferret
The black-footed ferret and whooping crane are on the endangered species list. [9] The black-footed ferret population inside the Badlands National Park has recovered to a population of approximately 100 individuals.[10] This whooping crane population is considered a non-self-sustaining wild population [11]
- ^ https://www.nps.gov/badl/upload/BADL_Climate_Scenarios_Brief.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "MRCC - Midwest Climate: Climate Trends Tool". mrcc.purdue.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
- ^ "Implications of Climate Scenarios for Badlands National Park Resource Management" (PDF).
- ^ "Climate in South Dakota".
- ^ "Badlands Visitor Guide: The official newspaper of Badlands National Park" (PDF). National Park Service. 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
- ^ Ruiz, Santi (September 13, 2020). "Bring Back the Bison". Yahoo News. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
- ^ "Bison, Buffalo, Tatanka: Bovids of the Badlands (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
- ^ "An Evaluation of the Bighorn Sheep Population in Badlands National Park - ProQuest". www.proquest.com. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
- ^ "Map of threatened and endangered species in National Parks". Wildlife and Wild Lands. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
- ^ Fritts, Rachel(Rachel A. ) (2020). Plague on the Prairie : the fight to save black-footed ferrets from the West's most insidious disease (Thesis thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- ^ "ECOS: Species Profile". ecos.fws.gov. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
Updated herd count and added population of Bighorn sheep. Added Endangered species section and population count for black-footed ferrets.
Ideas:
Find a reputable source for population counts of Prairie dog
Find more details on buffalo populations before establishing the national park
Find details on how the wildlife impact the Badlands National Park and surrounding areas (climate/vegetation/Native populations/etc)
Include information on Native American hunting in the park
Include population information for the black-footed ferret and the whooping crane (both endangered) Black-footed Ferret: Rebounding in the Badlands (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)