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SE South Dakota / Newton Hills Foraging Conditions — ForageIQ

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SE South Dakota / Newton Hills

1,300–1,550 ft · SD🚗 Directions

S

Glacial moraine hills in the southeast corner of SD — Newton Hills SP, Union Grove SP, Big Sioux Recreation Area along the Big Sioux River. Bur oak, basswood, American elm, and green ash on the rolling moraine and river-bluff terrain. Eastern deciduous forest at its northwest extension. Good spring morel hunting in oak-basswood draws.

Trees:Bur Oak Basswood American Elm

Updated Jul 13, 4:18 AM MT

AI Conditions Report

AI-generated · verify in field

Newton Hills is firing on all cylinders—S-tier is earned. You've got 77°F soil, 3.89" over 14 days, and sustained VWC right in the sweet zone. The two-week precipitation window nailed it: enough moisture to trigger fruiting, zero drought stress, and zero limiting factors beyond moderate desiccation risk (which is negligible in mid-July humidity). The roster is absurdly wide here. Prioritize the culinary wins: Chicken of the Woods on dead hardwood, Wine Caps in open grassland edges, Oysters on stumps, and boletes (Aspen, Birch, Frost's) under canopy—all triggered simultaneously. The toxic/medicinal tier (Amanitas, Coker's, Artist's Conk) is also live, so ID discipline is non-negotiable. Desiccation risk is your only watch point. With last week's 0.05" rainfall, this window won't last forever—expect a 5–7 day fruiting peak before soil moisture drops. Polypores and woody saprophytes (Chaga, Turkey Tail, Jelly Ear) are slower-developing insurance policies; ground mushrooms need attention now. Hot tip: Hit sun-exposed south-facing slopes for Wine Caps and Fairy Ring Champignon before Thursday—they'll bolt or desiccate fastest in direct heat.

Generated by Claude (Anthropic) from the structured weather, soil, and phenology data on this page. The LLM can misread edge cases — treat this as a starting hypothesis, not a guarantee. Always verify conditions on the ground before committing to a long drive.

Foraging Potential95/100

✅Moisture

✅Soil Temp

✅No Freeze

✅No Drought

Precip 7d

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Nearby Camping

Within(1)

West Ball Park Campground

developed

~4.1 mi from centerFee required/night

7 sites

⚠ Road Access Notice

Always verify road access is public before following GPS directions to mountain areas. Many forest roads are seasonal, gated, or require 4WD. Dispersed camping follows USFS/BLM rules (typically 14-day limit). Check ranger district offices for current road and campground conditions.

Viable Species

Confidence × Primordia state

HIGHPrimed

Oyster Mushroom

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Chicken of the Woods

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Wine Cap

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Giant Puffball

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Turkey Tail

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Witch's Butter

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Aspen Bolete

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Indigo Milk Cap

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Chaga

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Crown-Tipped Coral

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Jelly Ear

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Dead Man's Fingers

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Birch Bolete

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Parasol Mushroom

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Shaggy Parasol

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Fairy Ring Champignon

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Artist's Conk

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Birch Polypore

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Tinder Fungus

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Bird's Nest Fungus

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Cinnabar Chanterelle

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Berkeley's Polypore

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Red-Capped Scaber Stalk

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Old Man of the Woods

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Frost's Bolete

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Horse Mushroom

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Mica Cap

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Two-Colored Bolete

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Smooth Chanterelle

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Caesar's Amanita

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Weeping Milk Cap

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Green-Gill Lepiota

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Bitter Bolete

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Green Cracked Russula

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Peppery Milk Cap

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Coker's Amanita

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Fool's Mushroom

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Alcohol Inky

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Fairy Inkcap

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Yellow-Stainer

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Red-Belted Conk

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Thin-Walled Maze Polypore

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Mossy Maze Polypore

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

False Turkey Tail

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Northern Tooth

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Snow Fungus

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Wood Ear

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Green Elfcup

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Ivory Funnel

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Aspen Oyster

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Wolf's Milk Slime

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Dog Vomit Slime Mold

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Fluted Bird's Nest

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

King Alfred's Cakes

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Dung Bird's Nest

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Oak Mazegill

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Common Stinkhorn

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

HIGHPrimed

Dune Stinkhorn

All conditions met (soil 77°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.17)

Primordia readiness: Cold = mycelium dormant. Activating = soil warming, primordia building. Primed = 5+ sustained warm days at species threshold; fruiting imminent if moisture cooperates. Based on Schmidt 1983 / Mihail 2007.