Ecol ogy of the Black Hills 27region is warmer, receives about 25 cm less in precipitation, and generally has more
sunny days.
Because of the variation in precipitation, both across the region and annually, fires
are commonplace. For example, in 2000 the Jasper fire, a high- severity fire, burned
approximately 33,729 ha (about 7% of the Black Hills) (Jasper Fire Rapid Assessment,
http://www.fs. fed. us / r2 / blackhills / fire / history / jasper), from August until official containment
was declared in September 2000. Fires like the Jasper fire can be highly variable, re-
sulting in a mosaic of areas burned interspersed with areas with low- intensity burns
and unburned areas (fig. 2.11; Dubreuil 2002). In addition, grassy meadows inter-
spersed with aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) and paper birch (Betula papyrifera
Marsh.) naturally occur throughout the pine forest in bottom draws. An example,
Gillette Prairie, is located in the central region of the mountains and provides forage for
a diverse assemblage of ungulates, including elk and pronghorn, that occupy the area
(Simpson 2015).
Three areas within the Black Hills where mountain lions are federally protected
are under the administration of the National Park Ser vice: Mount Rushmore Na-
tional Memorial (about 6 km^2 ), Jewel Cave National Monument (about 5 km^2 ), and
Wind Cave National Park (about 110 km^2 ). Custer State Park (about 286 km^2 ) is ad-
ministered by the State of South Dakota through the South Dakota Department of
figure 2.11. Example of habitat burned in the southern Black Hills. Photo by Gail Jenks.