It's only a 'baby' rattlesnake...

Perhaps it was the absence of the wooded beauty of rugged hills punctuated by beautiful lakes and streams. Maybe it was the prospect of crossing paths with an irritated rattlesnake. Or it could simply have been serendipity.

Whatever the reason, the turnout of the August Moon Walk (8/21/10) to the rolling grasslands adjacent to Badlands National Park were a bit on the slim side. But the 50 or so folks who showed up for the Grassland Conservation program at the Double Bar Seven Ranch east of Scenic weren’t disappointed!  The monthly Moon Walks are sponsored by the Black Hills National Forest and have become popular outings for hundreds of area residents.  The walks take place monthly from May through September on the Saturday evening closest to the full moon.

Ranger David Slepnikoff stepped in for Amy Ballard this month, welcoming attendees to a Nature Conservancy ranch nestled just north of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. It was an opportunity to hear about recent land acquisitions by the Nature Conservancy and learn more about their efforts to get ranching and wildlife entities working together.

Our principal guide for the walk was Bob Paulson of Rapid City, who is a Nature Conservancy Program Director. Bob has been involved with the conservancy for some 14 years. With an undergraduate degree from North Dakota State University in Fargo, he completed an MBA at Denver University, followed by a career as an industrial engineer and owning his own businesses in Denver and then Rapid City.  Paulson told us that the Nature Conservancy has bought more than six thousand acres in the western Conata Basin since November of 2007 after working around the area for about six or seven years, getting to know the landowners and exploring possibilities. The Conata Basin, comprised of some 143,000 acres just south of the Badlands, contains what the conservancy says is one of the most “intact remaining grasslands” in the United States.

The land purchased by the Nature Conservancy includes more then 25,000 acres of federal grazing allotments, which are replete with black-footed ferrets – one of the rarest mammals in North America.

“The Conservancy’s acquisition of land in the Basin will help secure conservation of the rare black-footed ferret while providing grazing opportunities for area ranchers,” said Paulson, who proceeded to guide Moon Walk participants westward past the Double Bar Seven barn and into a field inhabited by prairie dogs.

Doug Albertson is the relatively new Lands Manager for the Nature Conservancy in western South Dakota.  Among other things, he oversees the Double Bar Seven ranch, which runs about 139 heifers on the property. Albertson has extensive experience as a wildlife biologist at Badlands National Park and is extremely knowledgeable about both black-footed ferrets and the abundance of prairie dogs that have created colonies across some 5,800 acres on the ranch and adjacent allotments.  That's Doug Albertson at right, underneath a nearly full moon.

Albertson shared a bit of history about the animal species that have been reintroduced into the Badlands since its establishment as a National Monument in 1939. They included bighorn sheep, bison, swift fox, and black-footed ferrets. The black-footed ferrets are the only ferrets native to North America.

While there were no ferrets believed to be in the colony visited by our Moon Walkers, we did enjoy seeing and hearing the prairie dogs vocalize.

“But we know they’re around. They’re nocturnal. In winter, with fresh snow and no wind, we can snow track them. They have distinctive foot prints, and their eyes shine an emerald-green.  You can learn more about this fascinating little creature by reading "Return of the Black-footed Ferret.”

“Ferrets have a long association with native Americans, who made use of the hides,” said Albertson. Ferret history in the region was first noted in 1851. In more modern times – the 1960’s – ferrets were put on the list as being extinct. After a brief resurgence of colonies in Wyoming in the 1970’s and ‘80s, they again declined. Bubonic plague has negatively affected prairie dogs, which are prey for the ferrets. The plague has impacted colonies as recently as 2007-08.

The Moon Walkers then proceeded across a field to a rise overlooking a grove of cottonwood trees called Casey Springs.

Bob Paulson matter-of-factly advised walkers to stand clear of the are near the edge of the rise, since a baby rattlesnake had given warning that it really didn’t want to be disturbed. Most folks immediately stepped back from the area; interestly, a few folks had to come closer to inspect the snake – perhaps saying hello to its mama.

Paulson recounted just how difficult it is for ranchers in this region, one of the last areas of the country to be homesteaded.

“Homesteading was a pretty good deal in areas getting more than 25 inches of rain. Working the 160 acres of land for five years, paying a title fee, and the land was yours. But out here, that’s not enough land to make a living on…but out here, drought is the rule, not the exception, and many folks have moved away,” said Paulson.

He said there are just eight private ranches in the Conata Basin – some 32,000 private acres.

The Nature Conservancy is working to exchange some of its land for scattered parcels in Fall River, Custer and Pennington counties which are generally less than 160 acres and typically not adjacent to other Forest Service land. Trading land into national forest ownership reduces public-private boundaries and helps lock up the ownership in bigger ownership patterns.

Unlike some of our Black Hills National Forest Moon Walks, our August trek was blessed with a nearly full moon beaming over our path back to the ranch house.

It was a delightful evening, capped with cookies, cocoa, and cider.  For more photographs and  information, visit our Moon Walk Gallery.

Next month, Moon Walkers will explore some of the Mining Towns of the Late 1800s in the central Black Hills. It’s slated for Saturday, September 18th, and promises to be a fantastic finale for another year of memorable Moon Walks. See you there!