Mission Statement

Badlands National Park preserves a diversity of significant resources for the education and inspiration of a world audience.   These resources are a blending of the best known Oligocene fossil deposits contained within archetypical Big Badlands formations, a rich and varied cultural history spanning from paleo-Indian occupation through the early twentieth century homesteading period, and a fine expanse of a mixed grass prairie ecosystem.   Other qualities, most notably the wilderness character, clean air, quiet, solitude, vastness, and natural processes, provide visitors with a setting for exploration and appreciation through such experiences as hiking, camping, wildlife viewing, scenic drives and vistas, research and educational opportunities, and quiet contemplation.

Badlands National Park was established as a national monument to protect its fossil resources and its stunning geological scenery; however, the park's story encompasses much more than that.   The park currently provides public education in four broad areas:

• The paleontological resources demonstrate the rise of the mammals after the demise of dinosaurs and show how Oligocene mammal populations evolved through 15 million years of climate change
  
  
• The geological processes involved with the building and destruction of the White River Badlands are illustrated through the deposition of sediments and erosion of the resulting layers
  
  
• The mixed grass prairie ecosystem protected within Badlands National Park makes up more than 50% of the park and consists of native plants and animals.
  
  
• The diverse human history spans at least 11,000 years, demonstrating cultural adaptation as the physical environment evolves.