Document Type
Thesis - University Access Only
Award Date
1997
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department / School
Geography
Abstract
During the later half of the Nineteenth Century the United States Government initiated many public land policies aimed at placing large portions of the public domain in the hands of settlers. Many of these policies failed in the promotion of settlement on the Great Plains. The Plains presented an environment for which the settler from the east was both unaccustomed and ill-prepared. The culture from which those eastern settlers came was based on a more humid environment and available timber supplies. One land policy was the Timber Culture Act of 1873. The stated goal of this law was to encourage the planting of trees on western prairies. These trees were to provide a source of timber, improve the soil, and increase rainfall across the region. Another goal of the act was to allow settlers to obtain additional land on the Plains. The "Tree Claim" law was widely considered to be a failure because of many incidents of fraud in the program and because of its general lack of success in establishing trees. This study examined long-term effects of the law along a transect across the eastern portion of South Dakota. This transect encompassed Township I 04 North from Range 47 West to Range 71 West. Analysis of Timber Culture sites across the transect showed that settlers obtained final title on only one-half of eligible sections. Only eleven percent of those sections still had an existing Timber Culture tree planting. Of those sites with existing trees, only thirty-one percent had plantings that could be considered in good condition. This condition rating was based on an analysis of the percent of canopy cover in the trees, number of trees on the site, type of ground cover between trees, and vigor of the trees. Forty-six percent of the sites were in poor condition.
Key words: Timber Culture Act, Tree Claim, Great Plains, South Dakota
Library of Congress Subject Headings
United States Timber Culture Act
Afforestation -- Great Plains
Afforestation -- South Dakota
Land use -- Government policy -- Great Plains
Land use -- Government policy -- South Dakota
Format
application/pdf
Number of Pages
334
Publisher
South Dakota State University
Recommended Citation
Kappen, Philip M., "Vegetational Impact of the Timber Culture Act on the Great Plains with a Case Study in Eastern South Dakota" (1997). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1324.
https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd2/1324