Mount Rushmore climbers to monitor and seal cracks annually. Due to budget constraints, the memorial is not regularly cleaned to remove lichens. However, on July 8, 2005, Alfred Kärcher GmbH, a German manufacturer of pressure washing and steam cleaning machines, conducted a free cleanup operation which lasted several weeks, using pressurized water at over . The flora and fauna of Mount Rushmore are similar to those of the rest of the Black Hills region of South Dakota. Birds including the turkey vulture, bald eagle, hawk, and meadowlark fly around Mount Rushmore, occasionally making nesting spots in the ledges of the mountain. Smaller
Rushmore University 2012, both the Maine Department of Education and Oregon Office of Degree Authorization identify Rushmore as operating in the Cayman Islands and the U.S. state of Georgia. Rushmore offers all of its educational programs solely through distance education. Rushmore states that each student can design their own entire curriculum. Students are encouraged to publish their student papers on the Internet, in conventional journals or magazines, or as self-published books. Editors are employed by the institution to help improve students' written work. Rushmore promotional materials state that the "status as an author" that results from these publications gives its alumni "greater