Last updated: October 6, 2023
Article
NPS Designs Project with Local Tribes to Develop Trail Access in Wind Cave National Park
In 2011, the National Park Service added 5,556 acres to Wind Cave National Park along the park’s southeastern boundary. The land was purchased from The Conservation Fund who acquired it through an auction from the Casey family. The park, in collaboration with local tribes, is using Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds to expand visitor access and use of the property.
NPS Photo
Currently, there is no access for public use on the historic Casey property, a property with a homestead dating back to 1918, according to Greg Schroeder, science and resource manager at the Wind Cave National Park. “One of the things we talk about for planned access would be a trail system and a parking lot that makes this area accessible to visitors,” he said.
Wind Cave National Park is consulting with Tribal partners to design the trail system through the property. “Through Tribal consultation and collaboration from the beginning, we will be able to identify good trail locations,” Schroeder said. “We want to make sure that trail locations do not disturb archaeologic resources.”
A significant landmark within the Casey property is the Sanson Ranch, a homestead dating back to 1918. Park staff are working with Tribal partners to understand how the land around the homestead has been used for thousands of years. “The Casey Property came very close to being developed back in the mid-2000s. With it now a part of the park, we can protect cultural resources, such as archeology sites, that help us tell the story of this land and its people,” Tom Farrell, chief of interpretation, said. NPS archaeologists believe there is a buffalo jump near the homestead. “A buffalo jump is where - prior to indigenous people having horses or guns - they would drive the bison over a cliff where they could then be killed after falling to the bottom of the cliff,” Farrell said. “We’re working with our Tribal partners to learn how they believe the land was used and how they would like to see the land used today.”
NPS Photo
The land acquisition provides opportunity for Wind Cave National Park to expand the bison population which will benefit the park’s ecosystem and local communities. “This 5,500 plus acres will allow us to expand our bison herd by probably 20 percent,” Schroeder said. “Properly managed, those bison help return the landscape to a more natural state, with a natural large grazer out there, and we anticipate that will enable more bison to be available for us to donate to Tribes for their ecological and cultural restoration projects around the country. Doing so is direct a contribution to the vision the Department of Interior’s Bison Conservation Initiative.”
Wind Cave National Park also protects the sixth-largest cave in the world. “We take about 125,000 people through the cave on an annual basis, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds will allow us to expand our trail system to help people explore the park’s surface,” Farrell said. “We have a mixed-grass prairie with a lot of wildlife—these trails will allow people to get out of their cars and explore the park’s prairies and forests.”