Long X Divide

Long X Divide spans 10,099 acres across the Dakota Prairie Grasslands in North Dakota, occupying the hilly terrain that rises to 2,570 feet at the divide itself. This landscape forms the headwaters of Appel Creek and the Little Missouri River system, with Corral Creek draining portions of the area. Water moves through this terrain as seasonal flows that shape both the vegetation patterns and the wildlife communities that depend on them.

The area supports a mosaic of distinct plant communities arranged along gradients of moisture and elevation. In the lowest, wettest areas, Great Plains Cottonwood - Peachleaf Willow Floodplain Forest dominates, with eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides) and green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) forming the canopy. On drier upland slopes, Rocky Mountain Juniper / Little Bluestem Woodland creates a more open structure, with juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) scattered above a ground layer of little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) and blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis). The ridges and exposed hillsides support Western Mixed-grass Prairie, where needle-and-thread grass (Hesperostipa comata), western wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii), and threadleaf sedge (Carex filifolia) dominate. Trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) forest occupies intermediate elevations, often with chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) in the understory. Silver sagebrush (Artemisia cana) and silver buffaloberry (Shepherdia argentea) form shrubland communities on drier slopes, while green ash and mixed herbaceous species create woodland in protected drainages.

Wildlife communities reflect these habitat divisions. The federally endangered whooping crane and threatened piping plover use the grassland and wetland margins for feeding and nesting. The federally threatened Dakota skipper and the proposed endangered Suckley's cuckoo bumble bee depend on native prairie flowers and structure. Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and American bison (Bison bison), near threatened (IUCN), move across grassland and open woodland. Black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) create colonies in the grassland, their burrows providing shelter for other species and altering soil and vegetation structure. The federally endangered northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) hunts insects above the grassland and within the aspen and cottonwood forests. Prairie rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis) hunt small mammals in grassland and shrubland. Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) occupy the steeper terrain of the divide itself.

Walking this landscape, a visitor moves through distinct sensory zones. Starting in the cottonwood-ash floodplain along Appel Creek or Corral Creek, the air is cooler and the light filtered through dense canopy. As elevation increases, the forest opens into aspen woodland, then transitions abruptly to the silver sagebrush shrubland with its aromatic foliage and low, sparse structure. Climbing toward Long X Divide itself, the landscape becomes increasingly open—the grassland dominates, with scattered juniper and buffaloberry shrubs breaking the horizon. On the ridge, wind becomes the dominant sensory feature, and views extend across the rolling terrain. The shift from the dark, moist floodplain to the exposed, wind-swept grassland ridge occurs over a relatively short distance, making the area's ecological diversity immediately apparent to anyone moving through it.

For over 11,500 years, this region has sustained human occupation and use. The Mandan and Hidatsa peoples have traditions of inhabiting western North Dakota since at least 1000–1600 AD, with the Arikara joining them later in the nineteenth century. The Lakota and Dakota (Sioux), including the Hunkpapa and Sans Arc bands, used the Little Missouri Badlands extensively for hunting and warfare. The Crow people, historically separated from the Hidatsa, also moved through the Yellowstone and Little Missouri regions. Seasonal use by the Assiniboine, Plains Cree, Blackfeet, Cheyenne, and Gros Ventre is documented in historical records and archaeological evidence, including tipi rings found throughout the area. The region served as a crossroads for trade networks connecting distant peoples, and the Little Missouri basin provided Knife River Flint, a prized stone traded across the continent. The Long X Divide and surrounding Badlands were critical hunting grounds for bison, mule deer, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn. The area fell within the 12.6 million acres recognized as Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara territory in the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie, though subsequent Executive Orders (1870, 1880) and the General Allotment Act (1887) significantly reduced tribal lands to the current Fort Berthold Reservation boundaries. Inter-tribal conflicts, particularly between the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation and the Sioux, marked the region's history. Following the Battle of Killdeer Mountain, General Sully's 1864 military expedition moved through the Little Missouri Badlands near the Long X Divide and engaged in skirmishes with Sioux forces.

In the 1880s, the region became a destination for cattle ranching as the northern terminus for massive Texas cattle drives. The Long X Trail, a famous nineteenth-century cattle route, moved herds sometimes numbering over 10,000 head from Texas to the Badlands. The Long X Ranch was established in 1885 by the Reynolds Brothers after they purchased an existing sheep ranching operation in the valley. Earlier, in 1884, vigilantes burned the hayfields of the original sheep ranchers Hall and Braden, forcing them from the area. Cattle from the Long X Ranch were driven to railheads at Belfield, North Dakota, for shipment to Chicago packing plants. The region's ranching economy collapsed during the "Great Die-Up" of the winter of 1886–87, when a devastating drought followed by a brutal winter killed thousands of cattle across the region. The Long X Ranch lost approximately 4,000 cattle in this event, which effectively ended large-scale Texas-owned cattle operations in the North Dakota Badlands.

In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Orders 6909 (November 21) and 6910 (November 26), which withdrew public lands in North Dakota and South Dakota from settlement and entry, reserving them for conservation and grazing projects. These land withdrawals supported New Deal recovery efforts, including the Federal Emergency Relief Administration's grazing programs. In 1954, the Secretary of Agriculture transferred administration of these Land Utilization Projects from the Soil Conservation Service to the U.S. Forest Service. In 1960, the Secretary of Agriculture officially designated these areas as National Grasslands. The lands were subsequently consolidated into the administrative structure of what became the Dakota Prairie Grasslands. In 1998, the Dakota Prairie Grasslands was established as a separate administrative unit of the U.S. Forest Service, managed independently from the Custer National Forest in Billings, Montana, to provide focused management for the unique ecological and administrative needs of the grasslands across North Dakota and South Dakota.

The Long X Divide, comprising 10,099 acres within the McKenzie Ranger District of the Dakota Prairie Grasslands, is currently managed for grazing by the McKenzie Grazing Association. In 2001, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule provided protection for inventoried roadless areas on National Forests and Grasslands. The 2001/2002 Land and Resource Management Plan designated the Long X Divide as "Suitable for Wilderness," a classification that prohibits federal mineral leases to preserve the area's roadless character. The area remains classified as unavailable for oil and gas leasing, distinguishing it from the broader region where over 500 producing wells operate on federal lands.

Vital Resources Protected

Headwater Integrity for the Little Missouri River Drainage

The Long X Divide area encompasses the headwaters of Appel Creek and Corral Creek, which feed into the Little Missouri River system. The highly erodible badlands soils in this landscape are naturally prone to sedimentation; the roadless condition allows riparian vegetation—particularly the mature cottonwood forests and peachleaf willow floodplain forests documented here—to remain intact and function as sediment filters and streambank stabilizers. Once this vegetation is removed or fragmented, the watershed's natural capacity to trap sediment and maintain water quality is permanently compromised, making restoration of these riparian buffers extremely difficult in this semi-arid climate.

Grassland-Dependent Migratory Bird Habitat

The Long X Divide's expansive mixed-grass prairie uplands support multiple federally threatened species that depend on unbroken grassland structure: the Piping Plover and rufa red knot both require open, sparsely vegetated nesting and foraging habitat, while the Dakota Skipper (federally threatened) requires native perennial grasses for larval development. Road construction fragments grassland into smaller, isolated patches, creating edge effects that expose ground-nesting birds to increased predation and parasitism. The loss of interior grassland habitat—away from road edges—directly reduces breeding success for these species, and fragmented populations cannot sustain long-term viability.

Bat Roosting and Foraging Habitat for the Northern Long-Eared Bat

The Northern Long-Eared Bat (federally endangered) roosts in the mature cottonwood and aspen forests within the area and forages across the grassland-woodland mosaic. Road construction removes or degrades these forest patches and creates light and noise disturbance that disrupts foraging behavior in bats that navigate by echolocation. Because mature cottonwood and aspen forests are rare and slow-growing in this region, once lost to road clearing, they cannot be replaced within a timeframe relevant to species recovery.

Pollinator-Dependent Native Plant Communities

The area supports diverse native perennial grasses and wildflowers that depend on native pollinators—including the Suckley's cuckoo bumble bee (proposed endangered), monarch butterfly (proposed threatened), and Western regal fritillary (proposed threatened)—for reproduction. Road construction introduces disturbed soil and roadside conditions that favor invasive species like leafy spurge and cheatgrass, which outcompete native forbs and grasses. Once invasive species establish in the roadside corridor, they spread into adjacent native prairie, degrading the floral diversity that pollinators require and creating a self-reinforcing cycle of habitat loss that is extremely costly to reverse.

Threats from Road Construction

Sedimentation and Water Quality Degradation in Headwater Streams

Road construction on the highly erodible badlands soils of Long X Divide requires cut slopes and fill material that expose bare earth to erosion. Stormwater runoff from roads and disturbed areas carries sediment directly into Appel Creek, Corral Creek, and their tributaries, overwhelming the riparian vegetation's capacity to filter sediment. The Little Missouri River basin already experiences documented sedimentation problems; road-sourced sediment would further degrade water quality and bury the spawning substrates and benthic habitat that aquatic species depend on. Because badlands soils are naturally unstable, erosion from road cuts continues for decades after construction, creating a chronic sediment source that cannot be easily remediated.

Habitat Fragmentation and Edge-Effect Mortality for Ground-Nesting Birds

Road construction divides the continuous mixed-grass prairie into smaller, isolated patches separated by road corridors. Piping Plovers, rufa red knots, and Dakota Skippers require large, unbroken grassland interiors to avoid predation and parasitism; roads create hard edges where predators (corvids, foxes) concentrate and where cowbirds parasitize nests. The loss of interior habitat—the grassland area far enough from road edges to provide refuge—directly reduces the carrying capacity for these species. Fragmented populations become demographically unstable and more vulnerable to local extinction, and reconnecting fragmented populations across roads is biologically impossible.

Canopy Removal and Microclimate Disruption for Northern Long-Eared Bats

Road construction through the mature cottonwood and aspen forest patches requires removal of the canopy structure that Northern Long-Eared Bats use for roosting and shelter. The loss of canopy cover increases solar radiation and wind exposure at ground level, raising temperatures and lowering humidity in ways that make remaining forest unsuitable for bat thermoregulation. Additionally, road lighting and vehicle noise disrupt echolocation-based foraging in the remaining grassland-woodland mosaic adjacent to the road. Because mature cottonwood and aspen forests develop over 80–100+ years in this climate, the loss of roosting habitat cannot be compensated by planting or natural regeneration within a timeframe relevant to bat population recovery.

Invasive Species Establishment and Native Plant Community Collapse

Road construction creates disturbed soil, compacted edges, and drainage alterations that favor invasive species like leafy spurge and cheatgrass over native perennial grasses and wildflowers. Once established in the roadside corridor, these invasives spread into adjacent native prairie through seed dispersal and competitive displacement, degrading the floral diversity that native pollinators—including the Suckley's cuckoo bumble bee, monarch butterfly, and Western regal fritillary—require for nectar and larval host plants. Invasive-dominated grassland cannot support the native plant-pollinator relationships that these species depend on, and reversing invasive dominance in semi-arid grasslands requires decades of intensive management and is often unsuccessful. The loss of pollinator habitat cascades through the plant community, reducing seed set and regeneration of native species.

The Long X Divide, a 10,099-acre roadless area in the Dakota Prairie Grasslands near Watford City, North Dakota, offers backcountry recreation across mixed-grass prairie, badlands, and riparian forest. The area's roadless condition preserves the quiet, undisturbed character essential to most recreation here—trails remain non-motorized, wildlife habitat stays unfragmented, and the Little Missouri River corridor retains its wild character.

Hiking, Biking, and Horseback Riding

The Long X Trail (8002), a 5.8-mile intermediate singletrack, forms the core of foot and bike access. It follows the Little Missouri River bottom before climbing the Long X Divide, offering views of badlands and the river valley. The trail connects to the Maah Daah Hey Trail (7001), a 144-mile IMBA EPIC mountain biking route; approximately 10.6 miles of the Maah Daah Hey pass through the roadless area. A popular 11-to-12-mile loop starts at CCC Campground, follows the Long X Trail to its junction with the Maah Daah Hey, then returns via the Maah Daah Hey. The loop can be extended to 16 miles by adding an out-and-back section toward Theodore Roosevelt National Park's boundary. The Summit Trail (8003), a 4-mile strenuous route from Summit Campground, offers panoramic badlands views but has little shade; note that the latter two miles connecting to the Maah Daah Hey are officially closed due to erosion. The Summit Viewpoint Trail (8017), a short 0.25-mile walk, provides scenic overlooks. Homer's Camp (8016), a 0.1-mile walk-in site along the Long X Trail, offers a private riverside campsite with fire ring and picnic table. All trails are strictly non-motorized; e-bikes, motorcycles, ATVs, and snowmobiles are prohibited. Spring and fall are the best seasons; trails can become impassable during heavy rains. Cattle may be present on the Long X Trail. Access the area via CCC Campground (16 miles south of Watford City on Highway 85) or Summit Campground (18.5 miles south). The roadless condition keeps these trails quiet and free from motorized traffic, preserving the backcountry experience.

Hunting

The Long X Divide supports walk-in hunting for mule deer, bighorn sheep, elk, and wild turkey—all species documented in the area. Coyote hunting is also available. Big game species are allocated by lottery through North Dakota Game and Fish. Horses and mules are permitted as aids in hunting; leashed dogs may be used for recovery. Permanent tree stands, steps, and ground blinds are prohibited on National Forest System lands. The area is characterized as remote and rugged, offering primitive hunting opportunity in steep canyons and round-top hills. The Long X Wildlife Crossing, an underpass at US Highway 85, facilitates bighorn sheep and mule deer movement between the roadless area and adjacent habitats. Access via CCC Campground or Summit Campground; hunters can use the Long X Trail, Maah Daah Hey Trail, and Summit Trail to reach interior habitat. The roadless condition maintains unfragmented wildlife habitat and ensures that hunting remains a walk-in, primitive experience without road access to interior areas.

Birding

The Long X Divide is home to declining grassland specialists including golden eagle, ferruginous hawk, prairie falcon, long-billed curlew, burrowing owl, loggerhead shrike, Sprague's pipit, Baird's sparrow, grasshopper sparrow, and Brewer's sparrow. Woodland species in the area's draws and riparian zones include black-billed cuckoo, western meadowlark, and sharp-shinned hawk. Game birds documented here are sharp-tailed grouse, wild turkey, and pheasant. The area's trembling aspen pockets and green ash woodlands provide nesting habitat for woodland species uncommon in the surrounding badlands. The region lies on the Missouri Plateau flyway, a principal migration route. The Long X Trail and Maah Daah Hey Trail provide access to mature cottonwood forests and mixed-grass prairie uplands for bird observation. The Summit Loop offers views into the forested Summit Canyon. The roadless condition preserves interior forest habitat and quiet trails where warblers, ovenbirds, and other forest-interior species can breed and forage undisturbed.

Paddling

The Little Missouri River, North Dakota's only designated State Scenic River, flows past the northern edge of the roadless area. The river is generally quiet, flowing in long curves, though it can become dangerous during summer thunderstorms. May and June are the best paddling months, when spring rains provide adequate flow (at least 2.5 feet at the Medora gauge for fair boating). For much of the year, low water requires frequent boat dragging through shallow stretches. The Long X Bridge on US Highway 85 serves as a major access point; CCC Campground provides nearby river access. The roadless condition preserves the river's wild character and undisturbed riparian forest, maintaining the quiet paddling experience on this scenic waterway.

Photography

The Long X Divide itself—a three-mile series of round-top hills rising approximately 600 feet above the Little Missouri River—is a prominent scenic feature visible from both north and south. From the divide, photographers can capture views of the forested Summit Canyon to the southeast and the contrasting aridity of Theodore Roosevelt National Park's North Unit across the river. Corral Creek and Summit Creek, with their cottonwood and ash forests and incised creek beds, offer water feature photography. The area's green ash and trembling aspen forests provide autumn foliage color. Shrubland benches feature silver buffaloberry and silver sagebrush. Wildlife photography opportunities include bighorn sheep, mule deer, pronghorn, and black-tailed prairie dogs. The area's remote location and low light pollution, adjacent to Theodore Roosevelt National Park's dark sky designation, support stargazing from CCC Campground and Summit Campground. The roadless condition preserves the quiet, undisturbed landscape and wildlife behavior essential to quality wildlife and landscape photography.