Badlands National Park Invites Public to Visit During Veterans Day Weekend for Unity, Hope and Healing

Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced that all entrance fees to national park areas will be waived during Veterans Day weekend, November 10, 11 and 12, 2001, to encourage Americans to seek solace and inspiration in the nation’s parks, monuments and memorials.

“After the September 11 terrorist attacks, many people visited national park units because these special places offer hope and encouragement – qualities needed to help the nation heal from the recent assaults on innocent Americans and unify our efforts to rebound and find justice,” said Secretary Norton. “During this Veterans Day weekend, we invite all Americans to visit their parks in the spirit of unity, hope and healing. As Americans visit these special places, I urge them to do so with pride and in honor of those men and women who fought for the freedoms we value and enjoy today. Let us also remember our active military and those unsung heroes – the firefighters, police officers, medical workers and countless other Americans – who are serving the Nation valiantly in this time of crisis.”

“Americans draw strength from our nation’s cultural icons of freedom and tranquility from our great natural wonders,” National Park Service Director Fran Mainella said. “On Veterans Day weekend, all national parks – and many partners in state and local parks across the country – will waive park entrance fees. Let these treasures serve as reminders of what it means to bean American and that our trials, as well as our triumphs, serve to make this nation grow stronger, and endure and prosper.”

Badlands National Park is South Dakota’s largest national park and is known for dramatic vistas, fossil resources, and solitude. The Park is a remnant of one of the world’s greatest grasslands that now supports bison, mule deer, and bighorn sheep, as well as smaller vertebrates, such as prairie dogs and the black-footed ferret.

“During this time of great stress and uncertainty, we hope that many people will take advantage of this fee-free weekend to visit the Badlands,” said Superintendent William Supernaugh. “The Park offers the perfect setting for visitors to savor the calm and solitude and to reflect on the past and find hope for the future.”

The National Park Service, an Interior Department agency, is composed of more than 20,000 rangers, archaeologists, historians, biologists, architects, laborers, gardeners and other professionals who care for the special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage.

There are 385 national parks covering more than 84 million acres in every state (except Delaware), the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

For more information about this special Veterans Day weekend and national parks, please visit www.nps.gov.