Strom - Hanson

The Strom-Hanson area encompasses 18,957 acres of hilly terrain within the Dakota Prairie Grasslands, rising from the Little Missouri River at 1,850 feet to Hanson Overlook at 2,450 feet. The landscape drains through Deer Creek, Boyce Creek, Bull Run Creek, and Indian Creek—tributaries that feed the Little Missouri River headwaters system. These drainages carve wooded draws through the surrounding grasslands, creating a mosaic of riparian and upland habitats across the escarpments and ridges that define this section of the northern Great Plains.

The vegetation shifts across elevation and moisture gradients. In the deeper draws, Green Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) and Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) form a closed canopy with Western Snowberry (Symphoricarpos occidentalis) in the understory—the Green Ash - Chokecherry / Western Snowberry Wooded Draw community. On drier slopes and ridges, Rocky Mountain Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) and Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) create an open woodland. The upland grasslands transition from Western Wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii) and Needle-and-Thread Grass (Hesperostipa comata) in the mixedgrass prairie to Blue Grama (Bouteloua gracilis) in the drier shortgrass areas. Silver Sagebrush (Artemisia cana) and Silver Buffaloberry (Shepherdia argentea) occupy the shrubland margins, with Dense Spikemoss (Selaginella densa) and Lambert's Locoweed (Oxytropis lambertii) present in the ground layer.

Wildlife communities reflect these habitat divisions. The federally endangered Northern Long-Eared Bat (Myotis septentrionalis) hunts insects above the wooded draws and grasslands. Suckley's cuckoo bumble bee (Bombus suckleyi), proposed for federal endangered status, pollinates native wildflowers across the prairie. The Western regal fritillary (Argynnis idalia occidentalis), proposed for federal threatened status, depends on native prairie plants for larval host species. Sharp-tailed Grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus) use the grasslands for breeding displays and foraging. Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis) occupy the escarpments and rocky terrain. Prairie Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis) and Greater Short-horned Lizard (Phrynosoma hernandesi) hunt across open ground, while Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer) and Woodhouse's Toad (Anaxyrus woodhousii) occupy both grassland and draw habitats. North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) feeds on juniper and ash in the wooded areas.

Following the Maah Daah Hey Trail through this landscape, a visitor moves between distinct sensory worlds. Climbing from a wooded draw where ash and chokecherry shade the understory and the sound of running water carries from Deer Creek or Bull Run Creek, the trail emerges onto open grassland where Western Wheatgrass and Needle-and-Thread Grass stretch across rolling terrain. The air shifts from cool and moist to warm and dry. Ascending toward Hanson Overlook, the juniper woodland becomes sparser, Little Bluestem dominates the ground, and the Badlands Escarpments come into view. The transition from riparian shade to exposed ridge—from the sound of water to the wind across grass—marks the ecological gradient that defines this area.

For at least 11,500 years, human presence in this region is documented through archaeological sites containing Paleoindian and Plains Archaic evidence. The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara—collectively known as the Three Affiliated Tribes—historically valued the Little Missouri River basin, which they called the "Land of the Beginning," for its excellent hunting grounds. The Hidatsa, with historical ties to the Crow, and the Lakota Sioux, who emerged as the dominant power across the northern Great Plains by the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, also used these lands for hunting and seasonal movement. The Assiniboine likewise utilized the broader region for these purposes. The Little Missouri River's banks provided critical resources: timber in the form of cottonwood and ash, which were rare commodities in the treeless prairie, as well as diverse plants for gathering. High bluffs and buttes in the basin served as locations for eagle trapping, where tribes used camouflaged pits to capture birds for ceremonial use. The 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie designated much of this territory as belonging to the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara, though the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, which established the Great Sioux Reservation and included lands in this region, saw these rights subsequently curtailed by the U.S. government.

Military conflict marked the region during the Great Sioux War of 1876–1877, when General Custer and General Sully moved through the Badlands.

The arrival of the Northern Pacific Railroad at nearby Medora in 1880 transformed the landscape's economic use. In 1883, the Marquis de Morès established Medora as a meat-packing and rail center, catalyzing the development of massive cattle ranching operations. Logging operations harvested ponderosa pine—exceptionally rare in North Dakota—from nearby hills for use in construction and railroad ties, operations that gave their name to the historic Logging Camp Ranch near Amidon. Theodore Roosevelt's ranching in the 1880s at the Elkhorn and Maltese Cross ranches, part of the broader Badlands landscape, contributed to his later conservation philosophy. Cattle ranching became the primary historical and contemporary land use in the region.

During the 1930s Dust Bowl era, extreme drought and overgrazing prompted the federal government to purchase submarginal farmlands under the Land Utilization Act. These acquired lands were eventually organized into the National Grasslands, managed by the U.S. Forest Service, and the landscape transitioned from open range to managed grazing allotments. Prior to 1998, the grasslands now comprising the Dakota Prairie Grasslands were administered as part of the Custer National Forest, headquartered in Billings, Montana. The Dakota Prairie Grasslands was officially established as a separate administrative unit by the Chief of the Forest Service in 1998, managing the Little Missouri National Grassland and three other National Grasslands across North Dakota and South Dakota.

The Strom-Hanson area is located within the Medora Ranger District of the Little Missouri National Grassland. Under the July 2002 Land and Resource Management Plan for the Dakota Prairie Grasslands, the area was allocated for potential development due to existing private in-holdings and outstanding mineral rights rather than recommended for Wilderness designation. The area is protected under the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.

Vital Resources Protected

Headwater Protection and Riparian Connectivity

The Strom-Hanson area contains the headwaters of Deer Creek and the Little Missouri River system, along with Boyce Creek, Bull Run Creek, and Indian Creek. These drainages originate in the hilly terrain and soft shale badlands that characterize the landscape, making them particularly vulnerable to erosion. The Green Ash–Chokecherry wooded draws that line these creeks provide riparian buffers that stabilize banks and filter runoff before water reaches downstream reaches. Road construction in this terrain would directly increase sedimentation from cut slopes and fill placement, degrading water quality throughout the drainage network and eliminating the shade and structural complexity that cold-water dependent species require.

Northern Long-Eared Bat Foraging and Maternity Habitat

The federally endangered Northern Long-Eared Bat depends on the intact wooded draws and riparian corridors within this roadless area for foraging and maternity roosts. These bats hunt insects over water and within the canopy of ash and juniper woodlands, and they require continuous, unfragmented habitat corridors to move between roost sites and feeding areas. Road construction fragments this habitat into isolated patches, forcing bats to cross open areas where they are vulnerable to predation and exhaustion, and the loss of canopy cover from road clearing directly reduces the insect prey base these bats depend on for survival.

Prairie Dog Complexes and Black-Footed Ferret Reintroduction Foundation

The grasslands of Strom-Hanson support Black-tailed Prairie Dog colonies that are designated as critical habitat for Black-Footed Ferret reintroduction. Prairie dogs are a keystone species—their burrow systems create habitat for burrowing owls, mountain plovers, and other grassland specialists, and their grazing maintains the short-grass structure that these species require. Road construction fragments prairie dog colonies by creating barriers to movement and dispersal, isolating subpopulations and reducing genetic diversity. The loss of connectivity between colonies undermines the entire reintroduction strategy for the Black-Footed Ferret, which depends on healthy, interconnected prairie dog networks across the landscape.

Native Grassland Composition and Pollinator Habitat

The Western Wheatgrass–Needle-and-Thread mixedgrass prairie and Blue Grama–Buffalograss shortgrass prairie ecosystems support the proposed endangered Suckley's cuckoo bumble bee and the proposed threatened monarch butterfly and western regal fritillary. These native grasslands provide the flowering plants and host plants these pollinators depend on for nectar, pollen, and larval development. Road construction creates disturbed corridors where invasive species establish and spread, outcompeting native wildflowers and degrading the forage base for native pollinators. The loss of native grassland structure also increases edge effects that expose pollinator populations to predation and parasitism, reducing reproductive success across the entire population.

Threats from Road Construction

Sedimentation and Stream Temperature Increase from Badlands Topography

The Strom-Hanson landscape is characterized by steep slopes (>40%) and soft shale composition that erodes rapidly when exposed. Road construction on these slopes—whether for access to mineral leases or other development—creates cut banks and fill slopes that shed sediment directly into the drainage network during precipitation events. This sedimentation smothers spawning substrates in headwater streams and reduces light penetration, degrading habitat for aquatic invertebrates that Northern Long-Eared Bats and other wildlife depend on for food. Additionally, road clearing removes the riparian canopy that shades streams; the resulting increase in water temperature stresses cold-water dependent species and reduces dissolved oxygen, making headwater reaches unsuitable for sensitive aquatic communities.

Habitat Fragmentation and Isolation of Prairie Dog Colonies

Roads divide the grassland landscape into disconnected patches, preventing prairie dogs from dispersing between colonies and maintaining genetic diversity. This fragmentation is particularly damaging in semi-arid landscapes where colonies naturally fluctuate in size and must exchange individuals to persist through drought cycles. Isolated colonies are more vulnerable to local extinction from disease, predation, or environmental stochasticity, and the loss of connectivity directly undermines the Black-Footed Ferret reintroduction program, which requires a network of healthy, interconnected prairie dog complexes. Once fragmented, prairie dog metapopulations are extremely difficult to restore, making this a permanent loss of reintroduction habitat.

Invasive Species Establishment and Native Grassland Degradation

Road construction creates disturbed soil and compacted edges where invasive species—particularly noxious weeds like leafy spurge and invasive grasses—establish and spread into adjacent native grasslands. These invasives outcompete native wildflowers that provide nectar and host plants for the proposed endangered Suckley's cuckoo bumble bee, proposed threatened monarch butterfly, and proposed threatened western regal fritillary. The loss of native forbs reduces pollinator reproduction and survival, and the shift toward invasive-dominated grassland also increases fire frequency and intensity, creating a feedback loop where repeated burning prevents native plant recovery. This degradation is self-reinforcing and difficult to reverse once initiated.

Canopy Loss and Fragmentation of Wooded Draw Habitat

Road construction through the Green Ash–Chokecherry and Rocky Mountain Juniper woodlands removes the continuous canopy cover that the federally endangered Northern Long-Eared Bat requires for foraging and movement. These bats are highly sensitive to habitat fragmentation and avoid crossing open areas; roads create gaps in the wooded corridor that force bats into suboptimal foraging habitat or prevent them from accessing roost sites entirely. The loss of canopy also reduces insect abundance in the understory and over water, directly reducing the food available to these bats. Because Northern Long-Eared Bats have low reproductive rates and long lifespans, population recovery from habitat loss is slow, and fragmentation effects persist for decades even if roads are eventually closed.

The Strom-Hanson Roadless Area spans 18,957 acres of hilly terrain along the Little Missouri River in the Dakota Prairie Grasslands. The landscape rises from the river at 1,850 feet to Hanson Overlook at 2,450 feet, with Badlands escarpments, wooded draws of green ash and chokecherry, and mixed-grass prairie creating diverse habitat and terrain for backcountry recreation. The Maah Daah Hey Trail, a 144-mile non-motorized corridor, provides the primary access for all activities in this roadless area.

Hunting for sharp-tailed grouse in fall is a documented use throughout the area. The wooded draws, sagebrush shrublands, and badlands escarpments provide cover for stalking and flushing birds. Mule deer and white-tailed deer inhabit the chokecherry draws and grasslands. Hunters access the area on foot via the Maah Daah Hey Trail and the Hanson Overlook Trail (completed 2019, near Mile Post 119). The roadless condition is essential here: motorized vehicle use for hunting is prohibited, preserving the primitive character and requiring hunters to move through the landscape on their own power, which maintains the area's backcountry hunting experience.

Fishing centers on the Little Missouri River, which supports channel catfish (up to 10 pounds), goldeye, walleye, and sauger during spring spawning. The smaller creeks—Bull Run, Deer, Boyce, and Indian—are typically turbid and intermittent, supporting flathead chub, plains minnow, and creek chub but unreliable for recreational angling. All waters are managed as wild fisheries under North Dakota Game and Fish Department regulations; the daily limit for channel catfish is 20 (possession limit 40). Anglers reach the river via the Maah Daah Hey Trail and Hanson Overlook Trail. Without roads, access requires hiking, mountain biking, or horseback travel, preserving the remote, undisturbed character of the fishery.

Photography opportunities include Hanson Overlook (1/3 mile south of Mile Post 119), an interpretive site with views of the badlands and a plaque marking the John Hanson homestead (1923–1937). The China Wall and Devil's Pass, narrow ridge routes along the Maah Daah Hey Trail, offer dramatic vistas. The Little Missouri River's meanders, cottonwood groves, and wooded draws provide scenic subjects. Wildlife visible to patient observers includes mule and white-tailed deer, antelope, prairie dogs, coyotes, golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, prairie falcons, and reintroduced bighorn sheep and elk. Badgers have been documented in the Hanson Overlook corridor. The roadless condition preserves the quiet, undeveloped backdrop essential to landscape and wildlife photography in this area.