Custer State Park, South Dakota 



Location 



Custer Co., SD; Sec. 25, R. 6 E., T. 3 S.; GPS-UTM 4847163 N, 633332 E (of roadside turnout). 

 About 1 1 miles west-southwest of Hermosa. 



From Hermosa, South Dakota, continue south on South Dakota Highway 79 about 1 mile to junc- 

 tion of South Dakota Highway 36. Turn right (west) onto South Dakota Highway 36 and travel 

 about 10 miles to the Custer State Park entrance station. From entrance of park, continue west on 

 South Dakota Highway 36 about 0.4 mile. Photopoint is near a left-of-road (south) gravel turnoff. 

 Photopoint is also 2.2 miles east of Custer State Park Game Lodge on South Dakota Highway 36. 



Description 



September 21, 1999 



Open Grassland Park 



Grasses. Agropyron smithii, 

 Andropogon gerardii, Poa 

 secunda, Poa pratensis 



Forbs. Ambrosia 

 psilostachya, Grindelia 

 squarrosa, Artemisia 

 ludoviciana, Solidago spp. 

 Echinacea angustifolia. 

 Vervain spp. 



Shrubs and Trees. Rosa 

 woodsii, Symphoricarpos 

 occidentalis , Pinus ponderosa 



Synopsis 



A very diverse vegetation com- 

 plex, but Psoralea tenuiflora was 

 considered rare in 1927 and it 

 was absent in 1999. Agropyron 

 smithii remains the overwhelm- 

 ing dominant. Density and size 

 of Pinus ponderosa trees have 

 continued to increase. Highway 

 and roadside parking area have 

 been realigned since 1958. 



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