South Dakota never disappoints, and, I might add, all of the states in the United States offer exemplary opportunities to delve into that region’s natural history. I conduct research prior to my travels to specifically look for out-of-the-way places to visit.

These places could be cultural, geological, fossil sites or historical footnotes of things that happened a short time or a long time ago. No matter how I slice it, it is fun to learn about these topics.

South Dakota became special to me as a result of my Air Force enlistment times between 1963 and 1967. It was after my 365 day overseas tour in Thailand ended that South Dakota would come into play.

My new base assignment in 1966-67 was at Ellsworth Air Force Base located near Rapid City. To get there, I drove from Iowa across the prairie landscapes of Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota. That was my first experience of seeing South Dakota from its eastern edge almost all the way to its western edge. I was thrilled to be there and thrilled to see new landforms.

I did not know at the time how my intense interest in natural history would play out. It was just my thing, my area of interest, that eventually would lead to my college major at Iowa State University to study fish and wildlife biology.

So here I am driving across South Dakota, east to west, on Interstate 90, and then it happened. Out in the middle of nowhere was an artist’s creation of a man skeleton leading a T-rex skeleton.

I loved it then. I still love it now. What a fun thing to do to help garner the attention of travelers along those long stretches of highway.

What I did not know then, and what I do know now, is that our entire country, not just South Dakota, has evidence in their rock records of fossils, of geological happenings of very ancient climates, of dry lands above sea level interspersed with many eons of time when many segments of what would become North America were at the bottom of oceans.

Our immense store of limestone layers such as can be found near Le Grand or Ferguson quarry sites, tell us of oceans and their slow deposition of sediments and the shells of primitive life forms. Today, those rock deposits lay under a thin veneer of glacial till and topsoils.

These rocks are a testament to oceans that have come and gone repeatedly over long periods of geologic epochs. The same rock layers sometimes offer clues about glacial ice advances with ice carved grooves in the top surfaces of the bedrock.

People exploring our inhabited landscapes periodically discover fossils. They were intrigued by their discoveries.

What is it? When did it live here? Why did it live here? How long did those species flourish? What circumstances caused the demise of those ancient life forms? As science began to unravel these mysteries, a fuller picture slowly came into play to put all these aspects of ancient life into proper perspective, all reinforced by the evidence laid out in layers of rocks deep below the surface.

One ancient ocean that linked the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic has been labeled the Western Interior Seaway. It was a warm shallow sea that separated the Rocky Mountain uplifts from the Midwest plains. It was in this seaway that many reptilian life forms, and many fishes, existed during Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous times, a length of time defined by scientists as between 251 million years ago to 65 million years ago.

During the Late Cretaceous, a marine reptile named Mosasaurus existed in oceans over what is now North and South America, Europe, Africa, western Asia and Antarctica. Mosasaurs were a common large predator in these oceans and were at the top of the food chain.

Any swimming animal or reptile was fair game. In 1804, the Lewis and Clark Expedition discovered a now lost fossil skeleton alongside the Missouri River.

That skeleton was 45 feet long! In Rapid City, S.D., at the Museum of Mines and Geology, a full replica skeleton of this critter can be viewed. While back in Chamberlain, S.D., at the city park, a lifelike replica is on display for all visitors to see.

Scientific discoveries and careful examination of the evidence has a tremendous story to tell. Your curiosity can be enriched by studies of those discoveries. Visits to museums of natural history go a long way to understand ancient life forms, big and small.

Your discoveries can start anywhere and anytime, even during a road trip along I-90 in South Dakota when a man skeleton leads a T-rex skeleton toward tourists in the 1880 town.

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A recent discovery of a different kind happened at the Grammer Grove Wildlife Area. While walking a bottomland hiking trail, the man viewing and listening for birds came across a bobcat. At first, the bobcat was unaware of the human observer. A good look at the feline was obtained. Then, in a flash, the cat figured out that something was watching it, and it was game over. The cat quickly disappeared into the undergrowth vegetation.

This was a rare opportunity and a lucky circumstance. A new memory from the outdoors was added to the list of natural moments for that observer.

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Deer information concerning Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is being offered locally next week. Deer biologists will be present at the Grimes Farm on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. to give the public updated information and facts about this situation.

A roadkill buck deer this summer was found by the state veterinarian near Highway 30 and 14 in Marshall County. Its test result showed positive for CWD. That is why an informational meeting will be called to inform the public and hunters.

CWD is a disease without a cure. No vaccine exists, and even if it did, there is no way to administer it to every wild deer in the country.

There is no easy way to control it. There are some things that can and will be done, however. One item will be extensive additional testing of lymph glands from hunter taken deer. Hunters will be asked to provide samples or to call DNR biologists who will gladly come and take the samples for hunters.

The local DNR biologist to contact is Steve Woodruff at 319-330-7013. The program will highlight Iowa’s history of CWD first findings and how and why it may have spread to other places within Iowa.

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This week, I heard but did not see Sandhill Cranes. Their strong warbling calls are what alerted me to their flight somewhere south of and near Albion.

There is a pair known to nest on private wetlands northwest of Marshalltown. Sandhill Cranes are large bodied, long winged and long legged waterbirds. The local cranes are not part of the population that each spring fills the Platte River Valley of Nebraska from March to mid April, but they look the same and sound the same.

Look and listen for sandhills this fall.

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This week during September is the average first killing frost in northern Iowa. Will it happen this year? We will know soon enough.

In 1953, on Sept. 28, Iowa recorded the latest day with an air temperature of 100F or more. In fact, it was 103F in Glenwood.

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“Temperate, sincere and intelligent inquiry and discussion are only to be dreaded by the advocates of error. The truth need not fear them.” — James Rush, writer

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Garry Brandenburg is the retired director of the Marshall County Conservation Board. He is a graduate of Iowa State University with a BS degree in Fish & Wildlife Biology.

Contact him at:

P.O. Box 96

Albion, IA 50005

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