National Park Service Park News U.S. Department of the Interior The official newspaper of Badlands National Park Prairie Preamble Summer 2004 Issue Conservation Comes of Age PEOPLE TRAVEL TO NATIONAL PARKS TO WITNESS INCREDIBLE SCENERY, watch wildlife or learn about the stories of our past. While many associate the National Park Service as a conservation agency, few Welcome from the realize how involved this task is in the 21st century. Superintendent Yellowstone was established as our first National Park in 1872, but it Welcome to Badlands National Park. would take many years to develop an understanding of how to Depending on when you visit the park in manage our national parks. Early national parks were established 2004, you may notice some big changes. around scenic features or for political reasons. The idea of protect- The Ben Reifel Visitor Center, built in ing intact ecological units was unheard of. Words like ecosystem 1958, will begin a major face lift with had not been invented. Many resource management mistakes were new exhibits, the addition of an audito- made. Predator control programs eliminated animals deemed rium for our new park orientation film “bad” such as wolves, cougars, coyotes and other predators. Num- now in production and a modern class- bers of popular animals such as deer and elk were boosted. At room to support our education pro- some parks, bears were fed garbage while visitors watched from grams. During construction the visitor center and Badlands Natural History bleachers. As our understanding of ecological principles grew, Association bookstore will be available in however, the role of national parks evolved from being curiosities temporary offices. Look for signs direct- of nature to places containing complex natural systems. Scientific ing you to the temporary location. If studies taught us about relationships such as predator and prey, construction progresses as scheduled, geologic effects on the landscape or the role of fire in returning you should find us back at the rehabili- nutrients to the soil. Today, we still continue to learn and are some- tated visitor center in fall 2005. times surprised by the results we find. The Badlands are known around the We have come to realize that parks are not isolated islands. Because world for dramatic vistas, fossil resources boundaries were originally drawn around scenic features, places and solitude seldom found in our urban like Badlands National Park rarely contain complete ecological lifestyles. While you are here, please take units. Plants and animals are often dependent on land and habitats time to get out of your car to experience the prairie, pinnacles and other diverse outside our boundaries for their survival. This is why it is vitally resources of Badlands National Park. important for resource managers to form partnerships with other Please make good use of my team of state and federal land management agencies, tribes and private top: A Badlands National Park biological technician conducts field research rangers, volunteers, maintenance work- landowners. It is far easier to preserve a species and its habitat than during release of insects as biocontrol agents. ers and park partners who work together to conduct restoration efforts after reaching a critical level. to provide a safe and educational visit for bottom: Park staff ride into the Badlands Wilderness area to conduct mapping of exotic plants with Global Positioning System (GPS) units on their backs. over one million visitors each year. Another important idea learned is that the area within park bound- aries can be greatly affected by occurences outside, even if they areas would be forever protected from development. These two Badlands National Park (www.nps.gov/ happen long distances away. Air, water, plants and animals, includ- laws along with others like the Clean Air Act play an important role badl) is working on a revised General ing native and non-native species, do not recognize political bound- in helping to manage and protect Badlands National Park for future Management Plan and the first General aries drawn on a map. For this reason, laws that help to manage generations. Some of these laws were controversial when originally Management Plan for Minuteman Missile resources on a larger scale are important to national parks. passed and remain so today, but they ensure that all of us are stake- National Historic Site (www.nps.gov/ mimi) is also underway. Please visit our holders in the way our nation’s resources are managed. websites for information on how you can In December 2003, the Endangered Species Act celebrated the 30th be a part of their future. anniversary of its passage. This was the first law to give all species a As you read through articles further in this newspaper, pay special right to exist and applied rules for species management across all attention to where either partnerships or legislation has been in- Enjoy your stay at your park! government agencies. Another important law, the Wilderness Act of volved in our resource management efforts. National parks have 1964, will celebrate its 40th anniversary in September 2004. This law played an important role in the management and stewardship of looked across the four primary federal land management agencies our nation’s natural and cultural legacy but they are just one part of and set aside areas “where the earth and its community of life are the intricate task of preserving this legacy for the future. William R. Supernaugh, untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not Superintendent By Dan Johnson, a former park ranger at Badlands National Park, now at remain …” This was the first time it was federally legislated that Keweenaw National Historical Park. Inside This Newspaper Visitor Facilities.....................2 Safety and Leave No Trace …6 Emergency? Visiting the Area....................3 Hiking Trails….........................7 Call 911 Visitor Information................4 Resource Management….......8-11 Backcountry Information.......5 Ranger Programs…................12 For the latest on what is happening at Badlands National Park, check out the park website at ............................................... ........................................................... www.nps.gov/badl Visitor Facilities National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Ben Reifel Visitor Center Cedar Pass Campground Accessibility Located at Cedar Pass, the Ben Located near the Ben Badlands National Park makes Reifel Visitor Center offers a Reifel Visitor Center, the every affort to provide facilities Badlands National Park staffed information desk, the park Cedar Pass Campground that are accessible to all park orientation movie, exhibits, restrooms, has 96 sites. Summer camping fees are $10 visitors. Listed below are some of our ac- Badlands National Park protects over water and a public telephone. Badlands per night per campsite. The campground is cessible facilities and services. A complete 244,000 acres of sculpted Badlands and Natural History Association sells postcards, operated on a first come, first served basis listing of accessible facilities is available mixed-grass prairie. The park is home to books, videos, posters and other educa- and has a fourteen day limit. Cold running from the information desk at the Ben Reifel a variety of plants and animals. The tional materials. Open year round except water, flush toilets, covered picnic tables Visitor Center. Badlands formations also contain fossils for Thanksgiving, December 25 and and trash containers are available. The of creatures that roamed the land mil- • The Ben Reifel Visitor Center and White lions of years ago. January 1. Note: The park is about to begin campground does not have showers or River Visitor Center are both accessible to a major visitor center renovation project. electrical hookups. A dump station is avail- wheelchair users. The Touch Room of the For thousands of years this seemingly When renovations begin, a temporary able with a $1.00 fee per use. Campground Ben Reifel Visitor Center is a tactile experi- harsh land has been a home for many contact station will serve as the visitor hosts are on duty during the summer to ence for all who enjoy handling objects, peoples. Today, the vibrant culture of the center. See article on page 5. assist in registration and provide informa- such as rocks, fossils, and skins, and is ap- Oglala Lakota remains alive on the Pine tion. Look for them in the afternoon and propriate for the visually impaired. Hours of Operation Ridge Indian Reservation which contains early evenings at the campground entrance • The Fossil Exhibit Trail and the Door Trail the Stronghold Unit of Badlands Na- January 1–May 29 9 a.m.–4 p.m. booth. Open campfires are not permitted. are both accessible to wheelchair users. tional Park. Ranches dot the countryside • The Cedar Pass Campground has two outside the park. Some are owned by May 2–September 6 8 a.m.–5 p.m. GROUP CAMPING accessible campsites. The Agate and Group descendants of orginal homesteaders September 7–April 2005 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Four campsites are available in the Cedar Loop campground restrooms are acces- who settled here. Badlands National Park is in the Mountain Time Pass Campground for organized groups sible. One group campsite is accessible. Zone Mailing Address with a designated leader. The nightly fee is • The Cedar Pass Lodge dining room and Badlands National Park $2.50 per person with a minimum fee of gift shop, as well as some cabins, meet ac- 25216 Ben Reifel Road White River Visitor Center $25.00. Advance reservations are required cessibility standards. PO Box 6 Located on the Pine Ridge Reser- and can be made by contacting (605) 433 – • Buried Fossils, Living Prairie, the park’s Interior, South Dakota 57750 vation off Highway 27, the White 5235 or by writing Group Camping Reserva- orientation film, is open captioned. Several River Visitor Center offers a tions, Badlands National Park, 25216 Ben summer ranger programs, such as the Fossil Park Website staffed information desk, the park orienta- Reifel Road, PO Box 6, Interior, South Talk, are accessible to wheelchair users.