SOUTH DAKOTA — Some people love forests, others love deserts, many love cities. But Dan Svingen, he loves grasslands.

Dan Svingen is a happy and proud district ranger/capitol city coordinator on the Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands, Fort Pierre Ranger District. He’s been on the district since 2013 and he is thrilled to be there. “I grew up on the grasslands of the Dakotas, so my present location feels very much like home. The chance to help care for a precious ecosystem near home brought me back to the grasslands.”

Named after the city of Fort Pierre, South Dakota, and part of the larger Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands, the 116,000-acre Fort Pierre National Grassland is dominated by mixed-grass prairie. Similar to the Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands, the Fort Pierre National Grassland was created under the same authority, and for the same reasons (the Dust Bowl, Depression and the need for restoration and conservation) as the other national grasslands.  

Today the Fort Pierre National Grassland is popular with hunters, anglers and wildlife observers. It is particularly important to grassland nesting birds, with grasshopper sparrows, greater prairie-chickens, sharp-tailed grouse, upland sandpipers and western meadowlarks being especially prominent.   

What does Svingen love about the Fort Pierre National Grassland and what should visitors pay attention to? As a wildlife biologist by training, a fanatic birdwatcher and a great photographer, Svingen finds much beauty on the grasslands. “The vast vistas, all-encompassing sky and waving stands of grass are of constant enchantment, especially when augmented with spring birdsong, summer wildflowers, autumn golds and winter snows.”  

While Svingen also worked on forested parts of the National Forest System, including a stint supervising this story’s author on the, then-Nez Perce National Forest, it’s not like Svingen ever really left the grasslands. Since 1998, he has worked on the Cedar River, Cimarron, Comanche, Grand River, Kiowa, Little Missouri, Rita Blanca and Sheyenne national grasslands.

Still, managing and improving national grasslands is not easy. Historically, the Dust Bowl devastated the soils and natural vegetation of this and the other National Grasslands. More recently, Fort Pierre National Grassland’s native and restored prairie has been heavily invaded by exotic cool-season grasses, particularly smooth brome and Kentucky bluegrass. “We are working with a variety of university, conservation and livestock grazing partners, as well as tribal governments to slow and reverse that ecological threat,” says Svingen.

But Svingen is not deterred by the challenges of managing his beloved grassland. Give him a morning with good light, not too much wind and an interesting bird call in the air, and it’s guaranteed he’ll be out on the grasslands, binoculars in hand and camera at the ready.