Black Hills Experimental Forest

The Black Hills Experimental Forest (BHEF) was established in 1961 with the original purpose of establishing a landscape on which to test, modify, and develop practices for maximum production of high-quality timber, while exploring the effects of such practices on soil moisture relationships, game habitat, forage production for range livestock, snow accumulation and melt, streamflow, and other related uses.  It was also established to provide protection and control for long-term research studies that could be used to demonstrate land management practices.

At the time of establishment, the majority of the BHEF was ponderosa pine with three principal age classes: 25-year old even-aged stands; 70-year old even-aged stands; two-aged (150-250 year old sawtimber and 25-year old understory) that had a 25-year old understory.  Some of the younger stands had been thinned around 1934.  The sawtimber timber stands had been partially cut around 1959, 1941, and 1911.  In the mid-1980s, the Rocky Mountain Research Station, the Pactola Ranger District (now Northern Hills Ranger District), and the Black Hills National Forest cooperatively developed a treatment plan and timber sale for the Experimental Forest. The treatment would provide diverse stand conditions over the area that researchers could study. Natural disturbances such as pine beetle epidemics and wildfires have become major concerns, and research at the Experimental Forest has evolved to address these issues.

The Black Hills Experimental Forest is located approximately 7 miles north of Pactola Visitor Center (Hwy 385) and 20 miles northwest of Rapid City within the Black Hills National Forest. Open the Black Hills Experimental Forest Virtual Tour in a new tab.

Climate 

The average annual temperature for the BHEF is 40.6°F (4.8°C), with mean annual lows of 8°F (-13.3°C) and mean annual highs of 79°F (26.1°C).  The BHEF receives an average annual precipitation of 24 in (61 cm), most of which most falls between the months of March to October.

Vegetation 

BHEF is dominated by stands of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum) interspersed among meadow areas. Other common trees on the BHEF include white spruce (Picea glauca) and quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides).

Soils & Geology 

The soils are derived from igneous schists and granites; they are lithic in places but generally productive. The ridge is formed of Cambrian sandstone.  The remainder of the area is composed of Precambrian slates, schist, and quartzite with quartz intrusions. 

Elevation & Topography 

Elevation in BHEF ranges from 5,400 to 6,000 feet (1,646 to 1,829 m). There is an east-west ridge across the center.  Irregular slopes form to north of the ridge; there is a bench to south of the ridge; rolling upland hills are found further south and to the east of the ridge.  

Hydrology 

There are two main drainages within the Experimental Forest, but no continuously flowing streams.  The northern 1/3 of the BHEF drains into South Fork of Boxelder Creek. The southern 2/3 of the BHEF drains into Gimlet and Jim Creeks.  

There are no facilities on the Black Hills Experimental Forest.

Nelder wheel. 1968

Historical Research

Research in the Black Hills originally focused on the management of ponderosa pine forests for multiple resource outputs, including timber products and forage production for livestock and wildlife. The primary topics of research included the effect of tree density on timber production, wildlife habitat, range quality, and resilience to insects. The research on ponderosa pine density-growth relationships was part of a west-wide effort started in the early 1960s to provide basic information on thinning responses in even-aged stands of ponderosa pine. Other long-term research projects were established to examine the influence of planting density and site preparation on small-tree growth using a Nelder plot design.  Specifically, scientists were interested in the effects of clear-cut orientations (cardinal directions) on tree establishment and growth. Scientists also initiated a long-term provenance study to identify superior genotypes of ponderosa pine for local tree improvement programs. 

Current & Ongoing Research

Nelder wheel. 2023

Ongoing research studies are examining a wide range of forest management topics including:

• Timber production and harvest
• Growth relationships of overstory and understory
• Impacts of spacing and density on ponderosa pine tree growth
• Management of mountain pine beetle infestations
• Management of wildlife habitat
• Reintroduction of prescribed fire
• Understanding the historical fire history, tree density, and spatial patterns of ponderosa pine forests 
• Natural and artificial regeneration

Recent activities in the BHEF have included implementation of a research study intended to examine the application of irregular selection silviculture.  Irregular selection creates an uneven-aged forest, rather than the even-aged forest commonly viewed across the Black Hills.  The goal of this research is to evaluate an uneven-aged forest structure’s resilience to wildfire, insects, and disease while documenting stand productivity.  In addition to these objectives, several surface fuel management techniques, including lop and scatter, pile and burning, mastication, and prescribed fire will be evaluated.

See Annotated bibliography for the Black Hills Experimental Forest for details on BHEF research. 

Conducting Research

The Black Hills Experimental Forest has opportunities to study the impacts of a wide range of forest management practices. BHEF welcomes future collaboration on research that fit within the overall research goals of the Rocky Mountain Research Station and are compatible with other ongoing research at Black Hills. All research at Black Hills Experimental Forest requires an approved study plan, regardless of type, extent, duration, or impact.  Data collected at Black Hills for use in any publication or product must be submitted to the Forest Service Research Data Archive for a data DOI (how to submit data). It is routine professional ethics to acknowledge RMRS, Black Hills Experimental Forest, and the efforts of collaborating Forest Service scientists and staff in any subsequent publications. Please also forward subsequent publications to RMRS collaborator.  

Contact Scientist-in-charge Mike Battaglia for more information on research opportunities, setting up a study plan, or archiving data collected at Black Hills Experimental Forest. 

Multiple long-term datasets are available for use in research projects. The Experimental Forest and Range network encourages re-use of data from among its collaborators.  We also recognize that it is important for scientists to receive proper credit for the contribution their data make to other projects. Thus, the data user must properly cite the data publication in any other publications or in the metadata of any derived products developed using the data (Conditions of Use).   

• Long-term data on ponderosa pine growth are on file at the Rocky Mountain Research Station, available upon request.
• Daily weather and precipitation are recorded on the Experimental Forest
• Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS): The Black Hills continues to contribute valuable long-term growth data that is used to develop and verify the FVS.
• Digital Surface, Terrain, and Canopy Height Models: This data publication contains three raster datasets with a spatial resolution of one meter: 1) a digital surface model (DSM), which represents the highest lidar return in each grid cell; 2) a digital terrain model (DTM), a representation of the ground surface with vegetation and other non-ground returns removed; and 3) a canopy height model (CHM), a representation of the height of vegetation above the ground surface.