I recently heard someone openly wonder what was with all those hills along highway 83 near the turnoff to Garrison. No doubt many North Dakotans have passed that way and may have had the same question.
Those hills are old mine spoils. A coal mine was in operation there from the 1940’s to the 1960. Keep in mind that this was before reclamation laws. Now of course, the overburden must be replaced and landscaped.
As you drive past the area on high way 83 or on highway 37 toward Garrison, you can almost imagine the draglines digging down to the coal and piling the overburden in adjacent piles, slowly moving eastward or westward across the landscape. Then moving perhaps southward to repeat the process. What was left was basically linear piles of overburden after the coal had been extracted.
Over the years the Garrison Sportsmen’s Club along with various groups of kids and adults planted an estimated 150,000-200,000 trees in the area, ranging from cedars and pines to chokecherry. Volunteer trees have made the place home as well.
Then in the late 1980’s Consolidated Coal, the owner of the mine turned over almost 700 acres of the property to the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. The area is now known as the Custer Mine Wildlife Management Area. The area has undergone considerable development over the years and now is a popular area for enjoying nature. There is always a chance of seeing some whitetail deer, red fox or coyote, and a wide variety of birds ranging from pheasant and partridge to warblers and owls. The four-acre Custer Mine Pond is stocked with trout, and of course also provides the opportunity to see waterfowl and shorebirds and perhaps a mink or raccoon.
To make the area more accessible and interesting for the public, hiking trails have been developed in the area along with interpretive kiosks. The entrance and parking lot to the property is located just west of the Highway 83/37 intersection.
So the next time you travel that part of the state, if you can, allow for some extra time to stop in and take a closer look at the area and maybe go for a hike or do some fishing. There is much to see, learn, and enjoy there.
~Chuck Lura
