Rapid City Forest and Grassland Research Laboratory

Maintaining resilient grassland and forest ecosystems requires an understanding of their function and response to disturbances from local to landscape scales.  Our grasslands and forests face multiple management challenges, such as climate change, invasive species, fire, landscape-scale fragmentation, and managing for threatened and endangered species. Located at the edge of the Black Hills National Forest and surrounded by National Grasslands in South Dakota and neighboring states, the Rapid City Forest and Grassland Research Laboratory is positioned to provide the best available science to grassland and forest managers as they face management challenges. 

Currently, the Rapid City Forest and Grassland Research Laboratory houses scientists associated with the Maintaining Resilient Dryland Ecosystem Program. The nearby Black Hills Experimental Forest offers a location to conduct and view long-term research in action.