Several partners help protect Wind Cave National Park Headquarters area

Yellowstone National Park Engine Crew member Craig Hertz uses a drip torch to help ignite the Headquarters Fire. NPS

National Park Service (NPS) fire staff from Yellowstone National Park, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Buffalo National River, firefighters from partnering bureaus/agencies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs out of Pine Ridge, South Dakota, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from Crescent Lake, Nebraska, the Black Hills National Forest, and an engine crew from Oelrichs, South Dakota, helped with a 1,037-acre prescribed fire in October 2022, near Wind Cave National Park’s headquarters.

The $30,000.00 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law project focused on an area made up of dense and open ponderosa pine forest with grass understory. Firefighters ignited the grass understory near the park headquarters and a nearby private residence. “Prescribed fires such as this help reduce the buildup of fuels that could result in a catastrophic wildfire that threatens park structures and a nearby private residence,” said Park Superintendent, Leigh Welling. “It will also decrease the encroachment of young ponderosa pine onto the prairie while improving water flow into the cave.”

A firefighter uses a drip torch to ignite fuels around a park structure located within the Headquarters Prescribed Fire. NPS

This fire represents a continuation of the park's prescribed fire program which began in 1972. Segments of the park are burned under favorable conditions to simulate natural fires. Prescribed fires maintain the balance between forest and prairie and remove the build-up of dead fuels which reduces the chances of catastrophic wildfires and rejuvenates the native prairie grasses. Factors such as humidity, fuel moisture, wind speed and direction, and short and long-range weather patterns are all considered in establishing the acceptable conditions for conducting a prescribed fire. If the prescribed set of conditions cannot be met on a specific day, the planned fire is postponed.

Post burn view of treatment conducted around a park structure located within the Headquarters Prescribed Fire. NPS

Objectives for the Headquarters West prescribed fire included reducing the fuel load, restoring the balance between forested areas and prairie, and allowing more moisture to seep into the cave, which was located under parts of the burn unit. Fire ecologists will monitor preestablished plots to judge the effectiveness of the fire in the coming years, but signs point to the fire achieving many of the project objectives. “We are very appreciative of the assistance we received from outside agencies to conduct this fire,” said Welling. “The fire reduced the fuel load, and the chance of a catastrophic wildfire, in a critical area adjacent to our developed area."

Learn more about Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funded projects.

This project was made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – Wildland Fire, signed on November 15, 2021. It is a historic investment in the restoration and protection of the environment. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law - Infrastructure (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

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