"Barren Buttes" by NPS/Mark Meyers , public domain
![]() | Theodore RooseveltRidgeline Trail |
Brochure for the Ridgeline - A Guided Nature Trail - at Theodore Roosevelt National Park (NP)int North Dakota. Published by the National Park Service (NPS).
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National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Ridgeline
A Guided Nature Trail
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Be aware of the following:
Cliff Edges
Stairs
Rattlesnakes
Wildlife
Poison Ivy
Ridgeline Nature Trail
Lakota people called this land mako shika, or “land of no good.” French explorers
called it les mauvais terres á traverser, “bad lands to travel through.” The English
name is badlands. It is dry, maze-like, and rugged. Survival can be tough. Even
so, many plants and animals do survive and even thrive here. Learn more as you
follow the numbered trail posts.
1. Look deeper
As you hike this trail, look closely. The
juniper trees surrounding you now
are hard to miss. Also notice the many
other plants, including chokecherry,
crisply scented silver sagebrush,
and many grasses and small fowers.
Animals eat most of these plants and
Silver sagebrush
( Artemisia cana)
Choke cherry
(Prunus virginiana)
American Indians have long used them
for food or medicine. Some plants are
toxic. In order to survive, people and
animals had to learn which plants could
help or harm them.
Prairie wild rose
(Rosa arkansana)
Purple conefower
(Echinacea angustifolia)
2. Mako shika
Imagine traveling across the Great
Plains in a covered wagon and coming
upon this scene. The name badlands is
understandable. Next, imagine yourself
as a hunter on foot—butte tops become
good lookouts and valleys become
good places to travel undetected. Now
imagine yourself as prey, using the
lookouts and hiding places to evade
predators. Once you get to know the
badlands, you can use the rugged
landscape to your advantage.
Continue straight ahead to follow the guided nature trail.
3. Grasslands
Grasslands look simple at frst
glance, but upon closer inspection
are complex. Hundreds of species of
plants live in the park, most of them
grasses and wildfowers. Grasslands
support grazers, animals that eat
mostly grass, such as bison. In fact,
grasslands depend on grazers. Grazers
fertilize the soil with their manure.
Their pointed hooves pierce the soil
allowing rainwater to fnd its way into
the ground. By grazing selectively, they
help many plant species thrive.
4. Shrubs
Shrubs, like the silver sagebrush in
front of you, provide cover for small
mammals and birds and are also food
for browsers (animals that eat shrubs
such as deer, elk, and pronghorn.)
Silver bufaloberry
(Shepherdia argentea)
Browsers and fres keep shrubs from
overtaking the grasslands. Without
them, tree and shrub cover increases,
shading out smaller plants and
reducing the prairie’s diversity.
Rubber rabbitbrush
(Chrysothamnus nauseosus)
Golden currant
(Ribes aureum)
Continue straight ahead to follow the trail posts in numerical order.
5. Expressway
Travel through the badlands is much
faster since the construction of
Interstate 94 in the 1960s. Increased
travel to and through the badlands
Caution! Steep cliff edges ahead
means more chances of introducing
plants and animals that aren’t originally
from this area. Some introduced
species are damaging; others are not.
6. New Neighbors
Not all of the plant species you see
were here 200 years ago. Those that
were here before European settlement
are called native species. The prairie
depends on native species to play their
part in the environment–as food or
shelter for animals, or as protection
and nutrients for soil. Plants that have
been introduced are called non-native
species. Many non-native species blend
into the environment and do not pose
a threat; others become a problem.
These problem species are called
invasive species.
7. Invaders
Invasive plants, such as Canada
thistle, often spread quickly and take
over large areas, crowding out native
species. Some invasive plants, like leafy
spurge, slow the growth of nearby
plants by releasing toxic chemicals
from their roots. Many invasive plants
Canada thistle
(Cirsium arvense)
cannot be eaten by native wildlife.
Their spread reduces the amount of
food available for grazers. Theodore
Roosevelt National Park is actively
fghting to keep invasive species from
overtaking the native prairie.
Leafy spurge
(Euphorbia esula))
Smooth brome
(Bromus inermis)
Continue straight along the ridge to the next post.
8. Variety
As you look out across the landscape,
notice its diversity: some areas have
trees; some are grassy; and some are
almost bare. This is the infuence of
terrain on plant life. Do you see the
pattern?
Trees grow where they can get enough
water, usually along streams or
northern sides of hills where the sun
doesn’t dry up moisture as quickly.
Grasses are adapted to dry areas like
the tops and southern sides of hills.
9. Cooling Down
You are entering the north slope of
the ridge you’ve been walking along.
Notice there are fewer grasses and
more trees and shrubs. Grasses thrive
on the sunnier, drier hilltops and
Rocky Mountain juniper
( Juniperus scopulorum)
southern slopes. The cooler, wetter
conditions of the northern slopes
allow juniper, skunkbush sumac, and
dogbane to grow.
shrubby cinquefoil
(Potentilla fruticosa)
spreading dogbane
( Apocynum androsaemifolium)
10. Having it All
Imagine living here without modern
conveniences. On a hot day, you
would fnd shade in the cottonwood
trees along the river. When hungry,
you could fnd edible roots in the
grasslands and berries in wooded
and shrubby areas. You would move
between habitats to fnd the food
and shelter you need. Many animals
depend on the mix of habitats of the
badlands just as people would. For
example, elk use juniper woods for
cover and graze in open prairies.
11. Bird Food
In the summer and fall, the shrubs and
trees around you abound with berries,
which feed some of the nearly 200 bird
species in the park. Some birds live
here year-round, but many migrate
here for summer or come through on
western meadowlark
migrations to places further north.
These bountiful berry patches are
critical fuel for the migrating birds’
journey. The cover of their branches
provides a protected resting spot or a
place to nest.
lark sparrow
spotted towhee
12. Burning Up
Fire is a healthy and important part of
the prairie ecosystem. Together, fre
and grazing keep soils healthy and stop
trees and shrubs from overtaking the
prairie. Do you see any evidence here
from past fres?
Native plants are well adapted to
occasional fre. Native grasses have
very deep roots which store the energy
plants need to regenerate after fre. The
grass shoots that regrow are fresh and
nutritious—preferred grazing for bison
and other animals.
Fire is a useful tool for fghting the
spread of invasive plants. Many
invasive species are less tolerant of fre,
giving native species an advantage in
the growing season following a fre.
A hillside in the park one month after a prescribed burn
13. Setting Fires
The health of the grasslands was
essential to the Mandan, Hidatsa,
Arikara, and other plains tribes. To
keep the prairie healthy, people have
been setting prairie fres for thousands
of years.
Today the National Park Service
prescribes and sets carefully controlled
fres. These fres mimic the historic
natural and human-made fre cycle that
is so important to the prairie’s health.
14. Preserving the Balance
Along the Ridgeline Trail you have seen
how the habitats of the badlands, when
in balance, create a place for many
species’ survival and also how delicate
that balance can be.
As you continue to explore, notice
how each habitat afects the plants and
animals within it and how those park
residents afect their habitats.
The National Park Service strives to
preserve the balance of the badlands
for the beneft of wildlife, visitors, and
the ecosystem we all share.
Continue up the hill, then follow the trail to the left.
Please return this brochure to the box at the beginning of the trail. Thank you!
This trail brochure was written and produced by the rangers of
Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It was printed using your fee dollars.
Thank you for your support!
EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA™