[Photo: D. Luchsinger, 2000, National Park Service]

This portion of southwestern South Dakota was established as Badlands National Monument in 1939. Expanded and redesignated a national park in 1978, Badlands National Park is approximately 244,000 acres of rocky buttes, spires, and mixed-grass prairie. Sixty-four thousand acres are designated as the Badlands Wilderness Area. Portions of the park remain in the hands of the Oglala Sioux Tribe who co-manage the Stronghold and Palmer Creek Units within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

While Badlands National Park gets its name from the harsh weather and its unsuitability for agriculture, it is home to some well-adapted flora and fauna. Most of the 56 different types of grasses found in the Park's prairies are native, having developed over millions of years. Mammals such as pronghorn, bison, bighorn sheep, foxes, mountain lions, bobcats, rodents, rabbits, and bats call the Badlands home.

One of the most endangered land mammals in North America, the black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) is also native to the Park, though it was extirpated by the mid-1900s. Today, Badlands National Park has a population of 25 to 30 black-footed ferrets due to the reintroduction program and subsequent wild breeding.