The Daily Journal
Wednesday, May 1, 1996
Title: Sullys Hill preserve improves
Author: Jerry Kram, Journal Staff Writer
One of the Lake Region’s most popular attractions, the Sullys Hill National Game Preserve auto tour, reopens today. Improvements have been added to make the tour more enjoyable for the public.
Thousands of people drive through Sullys Hill every summer. Its main attractions are the herds of buffalo and elk and a prairie dog town that people can watch and photograph.
Sullys Hill also has a nature trail that people can hike, a portion of which is handicapped accessible. An Environmental Learning Center has classrooms that can be used by local schools and organizations for classes and meetings. A library of nature books are available for use in the classrooms to help identify that unusual animal, bird or plant.
New displays have been installed at the Visitors Center. The Visitors Center will be open Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. The Visitors Center is operated largely by volunteers, and will be open more often if more volunteer help is available. Informational brochures will be available at the front door if the Visitor Center is closed. There is no charge for entering the preserve or for using any of the facilities at Sullys Hill.
It will be a busy summer at Sullys Hill, with many events scheduled. The next event is a “Mothers Walk” on May 18. The Mothers Walk is a tour around the nature trail to observe new spring growth and new born animals and their mothers. A dawn bird walk, sponsored by the Chautauqua, will be held at Sullys Hill on June 1. Other events, including presentations at the new Amphitheatre, will be advertised.
The amphitheatre will be built this month at Sullys Hill by the National Civilian Conservation Corps. Five programs are scheduled for the facility this summer.
“The (NCCC crew) is made up of 11 people from 18 to 30 years old that are part of a national program where they travel around to refuges and parks and do repairs and help do construction, and they get tuition in return,” said [preserve manager Pam] Orr. “It’s a really nice program, because it will benefit us, and will benefit them too.”
“I can put a little tease in, that one of the programs will be on the snakes of North Dakota. So people can watch for that,” Orr added.
Last fall, the auto tour was closed early so an asphalt overlay could be put on the tour route. The smooth pavement now extends the full length of the autotour, except at the Devils Lake overlook.
Speed bumps will be added throughout the summer to help protect visitors and wildlife. Preserve manager Pam Orr warns that the new asphalt will be very slippery when it is wet. Animals are also found dead on the auto tour every year, so she urges people to take their time and be careful.
“Be cautious while driving of children, pedestrians and wildlife on the road,” said Orr. “People are going to have the tendency to be moving along a little bit faster with this new road, because there won’t be the chuck holes.”
There are 25 buffalo and 33 elk on the preserve. Orr urges the public to remember that these are wild animals and people should be very careful around them.
“Bison are not mean. They are a defensive animal, they are protective,” said Orr. “People need to keep in mind that they are wild animals and this is their home. This is where they live and people are just visitors.”
“I also want to remind the people not to feed the animals. They do not eat human food. They are herbivores, they eat plants. The big old bison and the little bitty prairie dog both eat the same thing,” Orr concluded.
Since this story was published, there have been many changes on the preserve including the name of the preserve has been changed to White Horse Hill, there’s a new site manager – Colleen Graue, and they host environmental education classes during the school year for students from Central Middle School, to name a few.