Fossil Cycad NM

Fossil Cycad National Monument was a national monument in South Dakota, established in 1922 to protect an area containing the largest and most diverse collection of fossilized cycads in the world. Originally consisting of 320 acres, and administered through Wind Cave National Park, the monument was managed by the National Park Service until 1957, when it was withdrawn as a national monument and transferred to the Bureau of Land Management. One reason the site was withdrawn was that it was relatively small and didn't meet the criteria for a separate unit of the National Park System. Additionally, the fossilized cycads that the monument was established to protect were already included within the boundaries of Badlands National Park. Finally, there were concerns about the condition of the fossilized cycads, many of which had been removed, vandalized, or damaged by weathering and erosion. Although many of the cycads excavated from that area are on display at various scientific institutions such as Yale University, the Smithsonian, and South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Fossil Cycad National Monument serves as an historic example of how poor planning, poor management, lack of supervision, and non-existent federal enforcement against theft on public lands can spell disaster for an area of land intended to be preserved from development