Part 5

Under this law, the Secretary of the Interior was authorized to adjust and redefine at his discretion the exterior boundary of the national monument by appropriate reductions or additions. The law specified, among other things, that the adjusted area could not exceed the existing 154,119 acres.[206] (An official figure of 150,103.41 acres was used as the total acreage of the area at the time it was proclaimed as a national monument in 1939. A revised figure, listing 154,119.46 acres for the same area, was used as the total acreage from about 1943 until October 1952.[207])

Immediately after the bill became law, proposed boundary changes received considerable attention. Some believed that the area of the national monument should be reduced. A strong supporter of this view was the South Dakota Stock Growers Association. It was the organization’s belief that the size could be reduced by about one-half without destroying any of its scenic value. They estimated that 3,000 head of cattle would be without grass if the NPS carried through its plan to fence the area and eliminate grazing from the national monument. One of the biggest problems was the large acreage of private lands located within its boundary. Many ranchers believed that these lands ought to be eliminated “from the Badlands National Monument wherever a reasonable boundary adjustment can be made.”[208] Others contended “that all of the grassland west of Pinnacles [Sage Creek Basin] could be removed from the Park and that such removal would in no way destroy the attraction to the tourist.”[209]

A 1953 memorandum from the Regional Director to NPS Director Conrad L. Wirth explained how Sage Creek Basin had become largely government-owned:

Sage Creek Basin was a submarginal waste in the 1930’s due to prolonged and severe drought conditions and considerable acreages of private lands were acquired by the Resettlement Administration in connection with its submarginal land program.... Other private parcels became tax delinquent and were ultimately sold to private owners by Pennington County in the 1940’s. Because of favorable climatic conditions of the past several years, the basin has recovered from its condition of the 1930’s; it now contains a considerable acreage of good grasslands.... We venture the opinion that had vegetative conditions of the basin in the 1930’s resembled those of today, a submarginal land program would not have been undertaken so far as the basin is concerned.[210]

Owing to the great interest generated by the proposed boundary changes, the NPS issued a statement in July 1952 giving reasons why it would not be “advisable to eliminate from the Monument the grasslands west of the Pinnacles, as suggested by the South Dakota Stock Growers Association.”[211] It said in part that

These flatter lands with their cover of native grasses and wildflowers, typical of the surrounding prairie country, are valuable for park and wildlife purposes. The preservation of this relatively small exhibit of native grass is an important responsibility in itself, since no comparable section of the Great Plains has been set apart to be preserved in its natural condition.[212]

The statement also indicated that about 31,700 acres of other lands were to be eliminated from the national monument, including more than 12,000 acres of privately owned lands. It indicated that the Soil Conservation Service agreed to these revisions and that they were “the same as those which the Congress considered when it authorized boundary revisions by enacting Public Law 328.”[213]

On October 3, 1952, Assistant Secretary of the Interior Joel D. Wolfsohn issued an order revising the boundary of the national monument. The order showed that 30,802.52 acres, more or less, were “hereby transferred from the Department of the Interior to the Department of Agriculture for use, administration, and disposition in accordance with the provisions of Title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act....” This reduced the size of Badlands National Monument, according to the order, to 121,883.12 acres.[214]

The Order was performed to provide lands for the Soil Conservation Service to enable those persons having private land in the monument to trade for Soil Conservation Service lands outside the monument, and to make a few administrative adjustments in the monument boundary.[215]

However, discrepancies in the land records led the NPS to investigate the status of lands within the former boundary.[216] By late 1953 it was found that 31,442.52 acres were eliminated from the national monument by the October 3 order instead of 30,802.52 acres. Of these 12,916.32 acres were private lands; the remaining 18,526.20 acres were transferred to the Soil Conservation Service of the Department of Agriculture.[217]

There were also lands totaling about 4,449 acres added to the national monument by the October 3 order; these lands included

“2,581.88 acres of public domain, 336.88 acres of purchased land, 981.79 acres of Soil Conservation Service land and 548.56 acres of private land.... The net result of the boundary adjustments was a loss of 26,993.23 acres of land in Badlands National Monument.”[218]

Even before the October 3 order was enacted there was already talk about further reduction of the area boundary. In a memorandum dated December 5, 1952, Director Wirth wrote to the Regional Director in charge of Badlands National Monument:

The basis for a final solution [of the boundary problem at Badlands National Monument] lies in a reassessment and restatement of Monument objectives and significance. If it is found, as appears likely, that our chief concern and purpose should be with the badlands formations, then the boundaries should be drawn accordingly, with due regard for badlands protection, interpretation and attendant development needs. If we are to retain some or all of the grasslands, we must have strong and valid justification for doing so and be prepared to disclose and defend what specific Monument purposes and uses they are to serve.[220]

In order to determine if the grasslands west of Pinnacles should be kept, the NPS contracted with a number of prominent scientists to make studies of the area in 1953. Dr. Theodore E. White, a paleontologist with the Smithsonian Institution, determined in June 1953 whether or not potentially fossiliferous areas would be excluded by proposed boundary readjustments.[221] Late that summer archeological investigations were undertaken by Archeologist Paul L. Beaubien of the NPS Regional Office in Omaha, Nebraska. He recorded some 30 prehistoric Indian sites and one historic Indian site believed to have been used by Chief Big Foot’s band a few days before the infamous battle at Wounded Knee in December 1890.[222]

Professor F.W. Albertson of Fort Hays Kansas State College submitted a Report of Study of Grassland Areas of Badlands National Monument in September. In brief he said, “it seems to me that the Park Service has an extremely interesting area, which should be preserved for all interested public through the years to come.”[223]

Meanwhile, support grew for retention of the boundaries as spelled out by the October 3, 1952, secretarial order. The Rapid City Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America, the South Dakota State Highway Commission, the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, the Black Hills and Badlands Association, and prominent local persons, including Sid Soma, Dr. G.W. Mills, Ted Hustead, and Leonel Jensen, all from the town of Wall, were but a few of the many who advocated retention of the present boundary.[224]

Although the South Dakota Stock Growers Association and some local ranching interests continued to advocate “the transfer of administration of all grazing lands within the monument not needed for road and development purposes,” it became evident to these people that opposition was building up against further acreage reduction in the park.[225]

In April 1954 the NPS recommended no boundary changes until the problem was explored further. Director Wirth said:

it seems apparent that there is a very considerable number of people ... which strongly support the retention of the Badlands National Monument not only as a striking example of geological formations, with areas of paleontological interest, but also for preservation of a segment of the plains grassland and native wildlife as added attractions. On the other hand, there is also a difficult problem of inholdings and grazing complications, with strong sentiment from the livestock owners for a reduction of the Monument.[226]

He recommended, among other things, that exchanges of private land inside the boundary for federal lands outside be pushed vigorously, and that Dr. Adolph Murie, NPS Biologist, should study the wildlife possibilities of the national monument.[227]

In his report Dr. Murie said:

Badlands National Monument has national significance, first of all because it is a sample of the Badlands. The values of this monument are of outstanding significance in the fields of geology, paleontology, archeology, and biology. The eroded terrain has scenic value for many, and in Sage Creek Basin and in the section north of Cedar Pass one finds the atmosphere of the early scene, when this country was far beyond the frontier....

In Sage Creek Basin we have an opportunity to preserve the prairie dog-blackfooted ferret community, with many other associated species of the region.... Likewise the rare kit fox may possibly be preserved in the basin. The value of Sage Creek Basin for preserving these rare native species is contingent on size and its present size is none too large....

Concerning boundaries in general over the monument it appears that any eliminations would be harmful to public values. Only in minor details, in connection with land adjustments, should any territory be sacrificed. Sage Creek Basin, especially, should not be reduced....[228]

Also during the summer of 1954, the NPS requested Dr. James D. Bump, Director of Museum of Geology of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology at Rapid City, to make a geological and paleontological appraisal of Badlands National Monument. Quotations from his report point out his strong feelings for the area:

The Big Badlands of South Dakota, from a paleontological standpoint, probably constitutes the richest Oligocene region in the world.... [The quantity of] paleontological materials given up to man over the past 100 years is of astounding proportions. This prehistorical treasure represents more than 250 species of the vertebrate life of thirty million years ago....

The Badlands National Monument is a part of the greatest badland-eroded section in North America.... I can think of no other geographic area of like-size that has the unusual natural beauty, the undisturbed plant and animal life and the wealth of scientific information to offer the public....[229]

He ended his report by making a number of recommendations, some of which follow:

The present boundaries must remain intact. Removal of any lands, except perhaps some thin scattered fringes, would seriously cripple future development and greatly reduce the attractiveness of the Monument....

Under no circumstances should any part of the Sage Creek Basin be withdrawn. Its scientific and natural value cannot be overestimated and it is my opinion that this section will in the future become one of the most interesting and educational of the entire Monument.[230]

As a result of Dr. Murie’s wildlife study and Dr. Bump’s geological and paleontological appraisal, the Service began formulating definite ideas in April 1955 concerning further revision of the boundary. An elimination of 11,124 acres including 4,234 acres of privately owned lands was proposed. This is only about one-third of the 32,000 acres which was being widely talked about as a possible reduction in size during 1953. The larger reduction would have included much of the grasslands west of Pinnacles. Addition of 4,460 acres, including 3,954 acres of Pine Ridge Indian Reservation lands and 246 acres of Department of the Army lands located on the Indian reservation, was also proposed. Net reduction in area would be about 6,664 acres.[231]

Since the mid-1930’s there have been various suggestions that a road be constructed to connect Sage Creek Basin with the Sheep Mountain locality. Although it was not in the master plan for the national monument in the 1950’s, planning for the ultimate boundary was done so that the road could be built if ultimately needed.[232] However, Dr. Murie recommended against the road proposal in his report.[233]

On April 12, 1956, an open meeting was held in Wall, South Dakota, to discuss proposed boundary changes with ranchers, stockmen, and local businessmen. No opposition to the proposals was voiced. The meeting also provided an opportunity for discussion of development plans, including fencing and grazing matters.[234]

On March 22, 1957, Acting Secretary of the Interior Hatfield Chilson issued an order eliminating 11,234.09 acres from the national monument, of which about 4,000 acres were private land. The total area of Badlands National Monument was fixed at 111,529.82 acres. This also included an addition of 240 acres of federal land which, among other things, increased the utility area at headquarters and provided a much needed disposal area. An additional 1.39 acres of federal land, located along the White River three miles south of headquarters, were added, since water storage tanks and a water pump, all part of the area’s water system, are located there. More than 7,000 acres of the 11,234.09-acre reduction were transferred to the Department of Agriculture, under provisions of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act, and became available for exchange for private land remaining inside the new boundary. As a result of the secretarial order, there was a net reduction of 10,992.70 acres in the size of the national monument. The new boundary included 98,486.39 acres in federal ownership and 13,043.43 acres of non-federal land.[235] Since then, the Service has acquired title to 6,356.71 acres of the non-federal land within the boundary. As of December 1967 there were 104,843.10 acres of federal land and 6,686.72 acres of non-federal land within the boundary of Badlands National Monument.[236]

On January 2, 1954, the Secretary of Agriculture transferred the Land Utilization Program, including lands in the vicinity of the national monument, from the Soil Conservation Service to the U.S. Forest Service.[237] This, in part, prompted a Program of Procedure for Land Exchanges, a revision of the Recommended Program of Procedure, to be drafted. The new agreement was signed in September 1954 by officials of both services. It states in part that all future land exchanges are to be handled by the Forest Service. This includes exchanges with private parties who own land inside the national monument boundary. One objective of such land exchanges is to eliminate all non-federal lands from within Badlands National Monument.[238] Since 1954 elimination of such lands has come about largely through exchanges, although in a few instances actual purchases were made.

Concurrently with boundary adjustments, the NPS gave considerable thought to a grazing management plan for the area whereby grazing might be eliminated without serious hardship to the local ranchers. As a result the Service presented a plan in May 1948 to grazing permittees outlining a schedule for the gradual termination of grazing on federally owned national monument lands by December 31, 1961.[239]

MISSION 66 DEVELOPMENT

In 1956, the National Park Service launched a 10-year park conservation development program known as Mission 66. This was to have great impact on the national monument. Under the program an expenditure of nearly $5,000,000 for roads, trails, buildings, and utilities was planned. Among the major projects undertaken and completed between 1956 and 1960 were a realinement and oil surfacing of main roads, the development of the Conata Picnic Area and the Cedar Pass and Dillon Pass campgrounds, and the erection of utility and storage buildings, three multiple-housing units, five employee residences, and an amphitheater.[240]

In May 1955 the Millard family donated two tracts of land totaling 18.50 acres to the NPS. Of this total, 5.85 acres, located in front of Cedar Pass Lodge, were donated for the right-of-way of the relocated highway; the remaining 12.65 acres made possible the development of Cedar Pass Campground.[241]

The visitor center was completed in May 1959. This large structure houses the national monument headquarters, interpretive exhibits, and an audiovisual presentation of the Badlands story.[242]

The installation of exhibits in the visitor center was essentially completed by November 1960.[243] Some of the materials used in the exhibits were donated by a number of individuals and institutions. Mr. Herbert Millard, son of the late Ben Millard, gave a large mass of sand calcite crystals now in the Small Wonders Exhibit. Dr. Winter of the University of South Dakota at Vermillion donated the plant collection in the Great Plains Grasslands Exhibit. The mounted badger in the Wildlife of the Grassland Exhibit was a gift from Orville Sandall of Kadoka, South Dakota. The skull of an Audubon Bighorn, on display above the Breaks in the Grassland Exhibit, was donated by Willard Sharp of Interior, South Dakota. In the exhibit showing a number of Indian artifacts are casts of early-man points donated by the University of Nebraska State Museum.[244]

The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, South Dakota, donated both the lower jaw and the upper jaw, including skull, of a fossilized titanothere, which is in the Badlands Bones Exhibit. The materials for the articulated oreodont fossil in the same exhibit were also donated by the school. The oreodont fossil is of particular interest because it was found northwest of Imlay, South Dakota about 100 feet from where a famous fossilized oreodont with unborn twins was excavated. The latter fossil is on display at the Museum of Geology at the school (see Figure 5).[245]

The first full-time resident park naturalist for Badlands National Monument was assigned in June 1958 to aid with the local interpretive program.[246] For a number of years previously, a park naturalist who had been assigned to Black Hills areas of the NPS also served the national monument on an irregular basis.[247]

On September 16, 1959, following the completion of the visitor center, the NPS dedicated Badlands National Monument. The featured speaker for the event was Fred A. Seaton, Secretary of the Interior, who gave the dedicatory address. Some 350 persons attended the ceremony.[248]

Tragedy struck a short time prior to the dedication with the sudden death of Superintendent George H. Sholly on August 19. As a tribute to him, the new amphitheater was named the George H. Sholly Memorial Amphitheater.[249]

After the boundary of Badlands National Monument was redefined by secretarial order in March 1957, the NPS began a long-range program for fencing it. The first segment of fencing was completed in 1957. By early 1961 some 108 miles were fenced with 20 miles still to be completed. To fence non-federal land excluding state land within the national monument would require an additional 92 miles of fence.[252]

In December 1961 letters were delivered to all inholding owners and to all persons who grazed stock within the national monument in that year. The letters terminated all grazing on federal lands within Badlands, and gave a short history of grazing in the national monument, the reason for termination, and the objectives and plans of the Service now that grazing was no longer permitted. Most of the private land located inside the boundary was not fenced, so unless steps were taken to fence the tracts used for grazing, stock would still trespass on federally owned lands.[253] Superintendent John W. Jay and Chief Park Ranger James F. Batman attended the legislative-committee meeting of the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association in Rapid City on November 30, 1961, where the matter of fencing the inholdings was discussed. Although at the time of this meeting the Service had no plans to fence any of the private inholdings, it later decided to assist with the fencing on an equal cost-sharing basis in the interest of better landowner-Service relations and in consideration of special situations relating to livestock management that faced some of the owners of private land in the national monument.[254] This offer was made to the landowners by letter from Superintendent Jay dated May 9, 1962. As a result three landowners accepted the offer.[255] By 1964 all of the inholdings on which grazing was being done were fenced either on a 50-50 basis or by the individual owners.[256]

Despite the Service’s hope that grazing on the national monument’s federally owned land would be terminated at the end of 1961, it continued. Due to drought conditions of 1961 and early 1962, Congressman Berry requested on behalf of the ranchers that grazing be continued during 1962. NPS Director Wirth decided to set up an emergency grazing program that would include only those ranchers who held permits in 1961. Accordingly, special-use permits were issued to 26 ranchers during 1962. This was the last year that grazing was permitted on federally owned lands in the national monument.[257]

Some livestock trespassing by local ranchers continued, nevertheless. In November 1962, the United States Attorney took direct action against five ranchers who had been in trespass for some time.[258]