SUMMER WINDS DOWN BELOW 2000 FIGURES AT BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK

As temperatures begin their gradual drop in Badlands National Park, visitation remains 15% below 2000 levels. Through August 31, 800,649 visitors have been tallied at South Dakota's largest national park, contrasted to 941,781 for the same eight month period in 2000. Visitation for the month of August was down 20.3%. Badlands' visitation reflects the overall regional trend of lower visitation due to extreme heat and high fuel costs. It doesn't look like we'll break the one million visitor mark this year, notes Chief of Resource Education Marianne Mills. Our visitation has varied between 950,000 to 1.1 million since the early 1990s, so although a low visitation year, it does follow the pattern we seem to have set.

Visitation to the Ben Reifel Visitor Center was down less than 14%, indicating that visitors to the park are making heavy use of park facilities, particularly during the 100+ stretch of weather experienced in early August. Ranger-led programs have ended for the 2001 season. Visitors to the park should expect a self-guided experience on the Badlands Loop Road or on nature trails. Additionally, the hours of the Ben Reifel Visitor Center are reduced to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For additional information on Badlands National Park and its activities, contact (605) 433 - 5361 or visit the park website at http://www.nps.gov/bad Click on IN DEPTH to reach the park's expanded website.