Jan
4
12:00 PM12:00

BCA Potluck

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Join us to celebrate the new year! Our potluck will be held in the conference room at BCA's office from 12 pm to 2 pm on Saturday, January 4th. BCA will provide soup as well as door prizes. Please bring a dish to share, such as a salad, snacks, or sweets.

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Annual Meeting 2024
Nov
16
2:00 PM14:00
Meetings

Annual Meeting 2024

Badlands Conservation Alliance’s annual meeting will be held in Bismarck at the Bismarck Veterans Memorial Public Library on Saturday, November 16th, 2024, from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm CT. The event will celebrate BCA’s 25th anniversary. The annual meeting will feature speaker Michael Barthelemy, Director of Native American Studies at Nueta-Hidatsa-Sahnish College. Barthelemy will speak at 3:00 pm, followed by a question and answer session. This event is free and open to the public, and will include refreshments and door prizes.

RSVP on Facebook.

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Aug
9
to Aug 10
Outings

Ponderosa Pine Hike

Join us for a unique experience in the Ponderosa Pines within Logging Camp Ranch in the Badlands. This is an exclusive offering for BCA members only. Hosts John and Jennifer Hanson welcome BCA members to come hike in the pines and hear BCA's current conservation initiatives. RSVP by July 4th, 2024. Time, details, and a fee to participate TBA. Contact us for more information.

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May
18
9:00 AM09:00
Outings

Hike and Camp at Bennett-Cottonwood

RSVP on Facebook.

Join BCA as we camp in the Badlands and hike in the Little Missouri National Grasslands on the Forest Service Non-Motorized Area of the Cottonwood Trail. We will hike Saturday morning, May 18th, 9 a.m. CT. This will be an out-and-back hike, max 5 miles. For the adventurous, you could choose to hike out to the Maah Daah Hey Trail and loop back to the campground for a longer 13-mile trek.

BCA members and friends are invited to join us to camp at Bennett campground on Friday the 17th and Saturday the 18th.

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Earth Day Hike from Plumely Draw to Coal Creek
Apr
27
9:00 AM09:00
Outings

Earth Day Hike from Plumely Draw to Coal Creek

Badlands Conservation Alliance is hosting an outing to western North Dakota on Saturday, April 27th, 2024 to celebrate Earth Day. We'll hike 5.5 miles of the Maah Daah Hey Trail in the Little Missouri National Grassland. BCA Executive Director Shannon Straight will be guiding the hike and providing background on the conservation initiatives in the area.

RSVP on Facebook.

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On the Edge of the Wind: Native Storytellers and the Land
Mar
9
10:30 AM10:30
Outings

On the Edge of the Wind: Native Storytellers and the Land

We'll meet in the entrance of the North Dakota Heritage Center at 10:30 am on March 9th, 2024. Calvin Grinnell will be speaking as he accompanies us through the exhibit. The event will last for about an hour, although folks are welcome to stay afterwards. The Heritage Center is open until 5 pm on Saturdays. Admission is free.

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Outing to Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site
Feb
3
9:00 AM09:00
Outings

Outing to Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site

On Saturday, February 3rd, join Badlands Conservation Alliance for our outing to Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site.

During the outing, we'll stop by the Visitor Center to watch their short film. We'll hike the trail to the river and visit the Earthlodge locations.

Dress warm for an outdoor walk, including hiking shoes, and be sure to pack a lunch.

We'll leave from the BCA office parking lot at 9 AM. Please carpool if possible. The drive is a little over one hour. We'll return late afternoon.

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Outing to Elkhorn Ranch with Clay Jenkinson
Oct
15
9:00 AM09:00
Outings

Outing to Elkhorn Ranch with Clay Jenkinson

Clay Jenkinson, Theodore Roosevelt Scholar and Historian, will lead the hike from the Elkhorn Ranch parking lot to the site of Roosevelt's Historic Cabin location. The hiking trail is relatively flat, 1.4 miles out-and-back. Mr. Jenkinson will discuss TR and the Badlands, the building of the Elkhorn Ranch, and the Elkhorn as a shrine to American conservation.

Please RSVP if you plan to attend the Sunday, Oct. 15th hike.

You can RSVP on Facebook or by calling the BCA office at (701) 450-1631.

Rooms are available in Medora at Rough Riders Hotel or AmericInn if you plan to stay the night prior, Saturday, Oct. 14th.

Jenn Morelock of Dakota Cyclery will join the outing and has agreed to use one of her 11-person vans to shuttle folks to Elkhorn Ranch from Chimney Park.

Folks can gather in Chimney Park, just past TRNP entrance, between 8:30–9:00 am to carpool together or join the shuttle.

We'll depart shortly after 9:00 am.

The drive from Chimney Park to the Elkhorn Ranch parking lot is slightly over an hour.

Bring water, lunch and snacks; sunscreen, hat, and other sun and bug protection; please check the weather and dress accordingly, including good hiking shoes.

We'll be back in Medora by mid-afternoon.

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Big Cottonwoods and Bighorns: A North Unit Theodore Roosevelt National Park Weekend for Badlands Conservation Alliance (2023)
Jun
9
to Jun 11
Outings

Big Cottonwoods and Bighorns: A North Unit Theodore Roosevelt National Park Weekend for Badlands Conservation Alliance (2023)

  • Google Calendar ICS

The group campsite is reserved at the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park for a weekend BCA gathering on Friday, June 9 through Sunday, June 11, 2023, in the rugged beauty of this badlands gem.  The day hikes, led by Lillian Crook and Clay Jenkinson, will vary from easy to strenuous including on Saturday at 10 a.m. CT a long way down from Oxbow Overlook to the cottonwood bottoms of the Little Missouri River on the Achenbach Trail, and back up – about five miles roundtrip! Bighorns might be spotted, and some giant cottonwoods are a sure thing. Options might include a moderately challenging hike to Achenbach Hills wilderness, all varied terrain with splendid views of the Park and the Little Missouri National Grasslands surrounding it. Abundant snow of this winter holds promise of spectacular flora and fauna. Participants may arrive on Friday night or the weekend mornings by 10 a.m. CT to rendezvous with BCA in the group site parking area. Evenings will include campfire conservation conversations. BCA’s first hike was in the North Unit in 1999. Let’s celebrate our resiliency. Individuals are responsible for their own meals and snacks, weather and sun & insect protection, and such. Hats, walking sticks, and sturdy shoes or boots are encouraged. Water is available at this non-electric group site. The North Unit is in the Central Time zone and participants will need to pay a personal TRNP entry fee.

More information on the North Unit is available at nps.gov/thro/planyourvisit/north-unit.htm.

In the park, dogs must be on leash and they are not allowed on the trail. You can find more information about pets at nps.gov/thro/planyourvisit/pets.htm.

RVSP please for planning and so we don’t leave you behind to bca@badlandsconservationalliance.org (please leave a phone number in case we need to reach you and don’t have BCA email access). The Juniper group campsite has a maximum of 60 participants so make your plan to attend before this outing fills up!

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Annual Meeting 2022 with Rick Watson
Oct
8
1:00 PM13:00
Meetings

Annual Meeting 2022 with Rick Watson

Church of the Cross
1004 E Highland Acres Rd
Bismarck, ND

The BCA Annual Meeting and Potluck will be held Oct. 8 in Bismarck, featuring ND Associate Poet Laureate Rick Watson. A native of Mott, Rick lives in Minot. He is a retired professor of communications and a well-known singer of songs and teller of tales of western North Dakota, and friend to Badlands Conservation Alliance. His poetry has appeared on the pages of Wild Badlands and he was recently a featured guest on "The Great American Folk Show."

More on Rick Watson at http://highplainscreole.com/

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Sep
18
11:00 AM11:00
Outings

Autumn 2022 Hike to East Twin Buttes

Badlands Conservation Alliance will host an autumn hike to East Twin Butte on Sunday, September 18, 2022, led by Prairie Fire Pottery’s Tama Smith, a member of the board of directors.

Meet that day at 11 a.m. MT at I 94 Exit 10 (Camels Hump/Sentinel Butte exit) where hikers will car-pool for a moderately difficult day hike. Bring water and snacks and whatever else you need for an all-afternoon adventure. Hiking shoes are recommended.

The approximately 3-hour hike starts off with a gradual prairie grass saunter up to the saddle of East Twin Butte, but once hikers cross over the saddle, the terrain will be more challenging upon entering the Hell Creek geological formation of the western ND badlands.

For more information on the hike and the Twin Buttes area, see the Badlands Conservation Alliance at BadlandsConservationAlliance.org.

RSVPs are needed so we don’t leave anyone behind at the car parking site or can notify participants if plans change. For RSVPs and questions, call 701-260-0326.

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May
29
9:00 AM09:00

Day Hike to Bullion Butte

Memorial Weekend: Sunday, May 29

Bullion Butte, led by Lillian Crook and Clay Jenkinson

Join BCA for a day hike to the spectacular Bullion Butte on Sunday, May 29. The 5-7 mile hike (depending upon our route) will climb from the Little Missouri State Scenic River 700 feet to the top of this gem in the heart of an area designated as Suitable for Wilderness by the US Forest Service. The hike will be led by BCA board members Clay Jenkinson and Lillian Crook, who have trekked to Bullion Butte many times and will share their knowledge of the landscape and natural history The hike will be at a fairly leisurely pace, with stops for photos, snacking and conversation. We’ll plan to spend time exploring the top of Bullion Butte, which is about one mile across, before we head down again. 

Meet at Chimney Park in Medora Sunday morning for 9AM. Mountain Time DEPARTURE.  To minimize our impacts on the roads and disruption to area ranchers we will carpool to Bullion Butte via the West River Road that follows the Little Missouri River to the Mother of All Buttes. We expect to be back at Chimney Park by around 5PM Mountain Time. 

Participants must bring their own food, snacks, water, camping and hiking gear, first-aid supplies, and anything else that makes you happy. Hiking shoes or boots are a must. There is potable water at Chimney Park but none after we leave.  

You are on your own for lodging. There are several hotels in Medora, Airbnbs, as well as Medora Campground and other area campgrounds. 

RVSPs to Badlands Conservation Alliance at bca@BadlandsConservationAlliance.org. 

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Nov
14
3:00 PM15:00
Meetings

Annual Meeting 2021 with Clay Jenkinson

We are thrilled to announce that Clay Jenkinson, author of Language of Cottonwoods, will be speaking at our Annual Meeting on November 14. What could be more exciting than that?? Well, thanks to a generous donor who loves Clay's newest book and believes that his passion for protecting some of the last wild places in the Badlands and The Little Missouri River is contagious, the first 100 new or renewing members attending will receive a free copy of The Language of Cottonwoods. Clay will be available to sign books after his talk. (If you want a book and are attending virtually, we ask that you pay shipping of about $4.) 

We'll have refreshments and Clay will stay after his talk to sign books.

We have three excellent board candidates who have so graciously agreed to serve BCA - Sarah Vogel, Tom Dickson, and Clay Jenkinson. You can read more about them  here. Members will receive a ballot in the mail the week of October 20.

Here are the details of the Annual Meeting: 

Where:   Bismarck Veterans Memorial Public Library, Room A

               515 N 5th Street, Bismarck

               And via ZOOM

 

When:   3-5 PM Central Time

              3 PM: Business Meeting

              3:30 PM Clay Jenkinson

We are excited to be able to gather in person and to offer the option of attending virtually. (Look for a zoom link closer to the meeting.) So that we can gather safely, masks will be required for those attending in person. 

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Oct
2
to Oct 3

Hike to Petrified Forest replaces Prairie Fire outing

The kiln at Prairie Fire Pottery is in need of repair, so rather than hosting us in her studio, potter Tama Smith will lead us on a hike to the Petrified Forest on Sunday October 3.

On Saturday, October 2, join the group at Buffalo Gap Campground (USFS campground just west of Medora, Exit 18, well signed) for an evening campfire (your meals will be on your own). On Sunday, we will caravan in cars to the the West River Road Exit 23 on I-94E to meet daytrippers and then caravan to the Petrified Forest for a 3-mile out and back hike.  Meet at the exit at 11AM Mountain time.

 Saturday night camping at Buffalo Gap (or other area campgrounds) is on your own as are meals. The USFS Buffalo Gap Campground is located at Exit 18 and is a first come/first serve campground. Individuals are responsible for campsites, gear and meals. Bring plenty of water, adequate snacks and meals, clothing layers for changing weather, binocs, cameras, nature guides, sun and insect protection, sturdy boots, and whatever else makes you happy!

RSVPs to Liz at bca@badlandsconservationalliance.org. It is vital that you RSVP so we can contact you if the outing plans change and to ensure we don’t leave you behind.

 

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Aug
20
to Aug 22

Overnight at the North Unit Group Campsite

BCA celebrated its 10th anniversary at the group campsite of North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park (and the NU is the site of other memorial outings) and it is time to return to this sweet spot. The group site at the Juniper campground is right on the Little Mo Nature Trail and features giant cottonwoods. Herds of bison regularly roam through and the birding is dandy. 

The group site is reserved for Friday night to allow for early arrivals and Saturday morning hiking opportunities as per the group preference. Since most of the NU is wilderness, hikes get us into the heart of a landscape we all love. Depending on the Little Missouri River depth, we will cross the river and explore off-trail. Proximity to the Amphitheatre will also allow for participants to take in ranger-led evening talks before the BCA campfire time.

Though we will camp at the group site, individuals are responsible their own camping gear and meals. Bring plenty of water, adequate food for snacks and meals, clothing layers for changing weather, binocs, cameras, nature guides, sun and insect protection, sturdy boots, and whatever else makes you happy!

 RSVPs to Liz at bca@badlandsconservationalliance.org 

It is vital that you RSVP so we can contact you if the outing plans change and to ensure we don’t leave you behind.

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