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and higher temperatures increase evaporation. Demand for irrigation will rise, and the Ogallala and High Plains aquifers will be further depleted. Livestock will suffer from heat and feed grain production may slump.
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• FLORA AND FAUNA: Birds, fish and mammals will be affected by changes in seasonal lakes and wildfires. Changing temperatures will affect mating behavior and predator-prey relationships, while increasing carbon dioxide levels could make the grasses and leaves that animals eat less nutritious. Clashes may increase between those favoring development and land fragmentation against advocates of conserving prairie and other habitat for troubled species such as the sage grouse.
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• ADAPTATION A NECESSITY: Communities and states are inadequately prepared for a hotter, drier and stormier Great Plains, largely because many government officials have yet to take the threat seriously. Opportunities abound for conservation and climate-sensitive development, such as protecting native grasslands and restoring wetlands.
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SD panel gives final OK on agency rule changes
NORA HERTEL, Associated Press
• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- A South Dakota panel approved rule changes in multiple state departments Tuesday, including an official extension of a 65 mph zone on Interstate 90 between Rapid City and Ellsworth Air Force Base.
• The legislative Rules Review Committee also reviewed policy for the South Dakota Investment Council and seven departments. Some of the changes cleared up repetitive or obsolete rules. Others, such as those with Game, Fish and Parks, support larger changes. Game, Fish and Parks rules will affect the state's management of wildlife.
• State agencies must now submit their rule changes to the secretary of state. They take effect 20 days after filing.
• A rundown of the changes:
• TRANSPORTATION
• The Department of Transportation has amended a speed zone designation for Interstate 90. Bill Nevin, an attorney for the department, said the signs for the speed limit change are already in place, but the department needs to update the official rules. Nevin said the interchange is the busiest entrance to the Air Force base, just east of Rapid City.
• GAME, FISH AND PARKS
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