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<br /> <br />ABOUT <br /> <br />THE <br /> <br />VERMILLION <br /> <br />RIVER <br /> <br />BASIN <br /> <br />"TIle last two /lllti tllwlf )'t'Ilf'$ }um: hem too wet ill matly pdrts afSouth VIlkotel. Homes. farmland. crops. roads, <br /> <br />and bridges have bt'ctl miTlt'd by floodwaters. Spirits 11111'e bCf'1l down. lVJult to do? lVi/D am hdp? Howcatl we prevent <br /> <br />or at leasf lessen tile impact of jloodillg along riwrs, crcck beds, lakes, alld ponds?>> <br /> <br />'I'll E AfETTI NG <br /> <br />The Vermillion River Basin drains 2,185 <br />square miles of the southeast corner of South <br />Dakota. It is a semi-arid region, with annual <br />precipitation of22-25 inches. The Vennillion <br />River has its headwaters in the lake country of <br />Kingsbury County and runs roughly from <br />north to south until it drains into the <br />Missouri River near Burbank. South Dakota. <br />Along the way it is fed by the Little Vennillion <br />River, Saddle Creek. and Turkey Ridge Creek. <br />and several smaller tributaries. Elevations <br />within the Basin range from about 1,800 to <br />1,100 feet above mean sea level, providing a <br />20-mile-wide drainage corridor of low topo. <br />graphic relief and slow meandering streams. <br /> <br />HISTORY <br />The Vermillion Basin was probably inhabited <br />only seasonally by Native Americans until the <br />17OOs, when migrating bands of the Sioux <br /> <br />Tom 5orf"50". South DakoM Public Radio <br /> <br />people are known to have occupied the area. <br />The 1858 Yankton Tee-dry with the Sioux opened <br />the Basin to Euro-American senlement. Most <br />cities and towns in the Basin were established <br />in the 18&h after the railroads reachc.-d the <br />region. South Dakota became a state in 1889. <br />Since the 193Os, the Basin has main. <br />tained a population density of 25-35 people <br />per square mile. About 95% of the Basins <br />land is dedicated to agriculture. dominated by <br />forage and grain crops, especially com and <br />soybeans. Most of the Basins economy is ba...ro <br />directly or indirectly on agriculture. <br /> <br />I. A ~ [) seA I' E A N I> Il:\ III T ^ T <br />When it was first settled, the Vermillion Basin <br />was mostly tall- or mixed-grass prairies in the <br />uplands, and wetlands in the potholes and <br />lake basins. Now about 90% of the landscape <br />is in dryland and irrigated crops. There are <br />still ribbons of native woodland vegetation <br />along the larger streams, providing valuable <br /> <br />o <br /> <br />wildlife habitat. The wetlands in the upper por- <br />tion of the Basin are largely intact, but most of <br />those in the lower Basin have been drained or <br /> <br />,]teredAwrictyofgrnJl~(~u,'" <br />foxes. squirrels, raccoons, muskrats, badgers. <br />and CO)'Otts, to name a few), songbirds, raptors, <br />and pheasants occupy the woodlands and <br />remaining prairie habitats, along with white-tail <br />deer. The Vermillion River provides Sp-dwning <br />areas for Missouri River fish. Up t048 species of <br />fish have been identified-typical for a prairie <br />>tream. The Wgcr _ pnMd< good rold-~Icr <br />fisheries, along with bdbitat for ducks, cor. <br />morants, hc.rorui, and other shore and water birds. <br /> <br />RE{;REATIOS <br />The principal centers for recreation within the <br />Vermillion Basin are Lake Thompson. East <br />Vermillion Lake. municipal parks, and some <br />small hunting and fishing areas. The lakes are <br />heavily used for hunting, fishing, and boating. <br />Wildlife observation at Lake Thompson is very <br />