PRESCRIBED FIRE PLANNED FOR BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK RESCHEDULED DURING EARLY OCTOBER, 2002

Superintendent William Supernaugh of Badlands National Park announces that a 3132 acre prescribed fire scheduled for the week of September 16 has been rescheduled to occur during early October, weather permitting. If weather, winds, and moisture are just right, a crew of professional firefighters and resource managers will conduct the fire in the Dillon Pass area along the Badlands Loop Road. The fire is bounded on the north by the park boundary, on the south by the Loop Road, on the west by Badlands formations, and on the east by the Quinn Road. For visitor safety, signs will be posted along highways near the burn site. Traffic control may be necessary along the Badlands Loop Road during the fire if smoke creates visibility problems. Visitors may experience delays. The public and press will be kept a safe distance from the fire activities by authorized personnel.

The goals of the Dillon prescribed fire are to: ¨ Decrease fuel loading ¨ Increase native grass and forb cover ¨ Reduce the occurrence of non-native perennial grasses ¨ Reduce hazardous fuels adjacent to the park boundary.

A mosaic of burned and unburned patches will decrease fuel continuity. Decreasing decadent thatch will create openings for young, more nutritious vegetation growth that should improve native perennial/forb vigor and wildlife foraging habitat in the area. Restoration of the natural role of fire in the ecosystem has been an ongoing resource management goal at Badlands National Park and is specified in the park's Fire Management Plan. Fire behavior and effects will be closely monitored using NPS fire monitoring protocols.

Prescribed fire is an important resource management tool used to maintain the native mixed grass prairie of Badlands National Park. Plants native to the area are adapted to fire and, in many cases, may actually depend on fire to remain a vital part of a healthy prairie. Natural ignitions, such as lightning strikes on dry fuels, occur most frequently in summer and early fall and cause an increase in most grasses. A group of plants known to ecologists as "cool season exotic grasses" were introduced to South Dakota by Europeans and are undesirable as the park works toward restoring a prairie made up of native plants.

For more information on the park's burn plans and policies, contact Chief of Natural Resources Brian Kenner at (605) 433 - 5260. The park's website has additional information on fire as a prairie management tool at http://www.nps.gov/badl