The National Park Service is celebrating 100 years of preserving nature. Parks across South Dakota are planning festivities for the milestone.
August 25th marks the Parks Service’s centennial birthday. Park managers are throwing celebrations at the Nation Grassland, the Minuteman Missile Historic Site and Badlands National Park. Park officials plan to celebrate the whole weekend. Visitors can enter the Badlands National Park for no charge.
Mike Pflaum is the Superintendent at Badlands Park. He says the centennial celebrates the past, but hopefully the future as well.
“We need to have young people experience the National Parks and all the great things there are about National Parks, to be that next generation of stewards. Somebody’s going to have to take care of these places when people like me have moved on, you know, in life. And so the centennial for us is all about connecting with the next generation of people who are gonna care for these places,” says Pflaum.
Various educational and cultural exhibits will show the park’s history and operations. This includes a Native American rock ensemble with traditional instruments and dance.