SUMMER IS LOOKING UP AT BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK

After a slow winter start, visitation at Badlands National Park is now up 45% over 2003 for the January through May period with 126,721 visits tallied at counters at park entrance stations. This contrasts with only 87,293 visits for the same period in 2003. Visitation for the month of May was up nearly 10% with 54,007 visits totaled. We’ll just have to keep track of the trends. There is no accountable reason for the increase. We have adjusted the traffic counters so hopefully we have a more accurate visitation read this year. Otherwise, we’ll just have to wait and see what June brings for a sense of the impact of higher gasoline prices, drought conditions, and temperature extremes, notes Marianne Mills, Chief of Resource Education for Badlands National Park.

The summer schedule of ranger programs began on Friday, June 4 and is slated for daily availability at least through July. For more information on these programs...

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Talks and Evening Programs are accessible to those with mobility impairments. Topics change daily. Additionally, educators are onsite daily at the Pig Dig from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. to answer visitor questions about the excavation.

This year, over 75% of our naturalist staff are volunteer. We are grateful to these dedicated folks who are contributing their time to support our paid staff in the provision of walks and talks and the operation of our Visitor Centers, says Mills. We are able to provide these programs only through the support of Badlands Natural History Association (BNHA), our non-profit education partner and the support of the National Park Service Volunteers-in-Parks Program. BNHA provides staffing for the visitor center, presents Junior Ranger Programs, and prints free informational materials such as the Prairie Preamble and Trip Planners. To receive your copy of the 2004 edition of the Prairie Preamble, call (605) 433 – 5245 and request a copy today.

The Ben Reifel Visitor Center is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily through July, then will reduce its hours to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The White River Visitor Center, located on Pine Ridge Reservation, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through mid-August.

For more information on Badlands National Park, visit it virtually at http://www.nps.gov/badl/exp.htm