2016 National Park Service Centennial
North Dakota National Parks Join in Centennial Celebration
One hundred years ago this summer, on August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Organic Act, creating the agency that is responsible for protecting park and monument lands in the United States.
The National Park System now includes 411 areas throughout the United States, including several areas in North Dakota that embrace the scenic, historic and wildlife values the park system is designed to preserve. The NPS is celebrating its centennial by connecting with the next generation of conservation stewards.
The Find Your Park campaign is an effort to help reintroduce Americans to the outdoors so that they may enjoy public lands and engage in conservation, education and recreation initiatives in their local parks.
The centennial kicks off a second century of stewardship of America's national parks and engaging communities through recreation, conservation and historic preservation programs. The NPS invites all North Dakotans to discover national park sites, including Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Knife River Indian Villages, Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail and North Country National Scenic Trail.
NPS: Why North Dakota?
It was here in 1884 that future President Theodore Roosevelt reflected on human influences to remote spaces of the American West. Roosevelt's time in North Dakota's badlands (1884-86) inspired his first ideas for conserving the country's lands, wildlife, natural resources and scenic wonders. For that reason, Theodore Roosevelt National Park's Elkhorn Ranch site is considered by many to be the “Cradle of Conservation” and is an iconic place in America's cultural heritage.
During his presidency Roosevelt provided federal protection for over 230 million acres of land. While none of the land that eventually became part of the National Park System in North Dakota was designated during Roosevelt's presidency, the state does have several national wildlife refuges Roosevelt preserved, including Stump Lake, Chase Lake and Sully's Hill Game Preserve.
After Roosevelt's death in 1919, his conservation ideas prompted national interest in establishing a memorial to honor his work, and North Dakota was the natural location. The park was first created as a wildlife refuge in 1946, then the present-day south unit and Elkhorn Ranch unit became Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park in 1947. The north unit was added in 1948, and all 70,448 acres and three units were finally designated as Theodore Roosevelt National Park on November 10, 1978.
Park Details
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
The park's three western North Dakota units; south unit near Medora, north unit near Watford City, and the remote Elkhorn Ranch site, attracted almost 600,000 visitors in 2015, but they still preserve a wild landscape where
visitors can relax and recharge their spirit with a sense of solitude, hearing only wind rustling in the grass or the song of a meadowlark.
There is also a chance to experience the thrill of a sudden flight of sharp-tailed grouse, thundering hooves of bison, or a warning from a prairie rattlesnake. Fragrant sagebrush and impressive wildflower displays color the hillsides and valleys, and even when the sun goes down, there is opportunity to enjoy the splendor of the night sky, admire the Milky Way and marvel at the enchanting periodic appearance of the northern lights.
The landscape is made of many colors and textures; where one can view red rock baked by ancient subterranean coal fires, black coal veins, soft gray layers of bentonite clay, cannonball concretions, cap rock pillars, and fossilized trees from ancient forests. Just like Theodore Roosevelt, the park is a place to find nature and rejuvenate your soul.
“… Nothing could be more lonely and nothing more beautiful than the view at nightfall across the prairies to these huge hill masses, when the lengthening shadows had at last merged into one and the faint after-glow of the red sunset filled the west. The beauty and charm of the wilderness are his for the asking, for the edges of the wilderness lie close beside the beaten roads of the present travel ….”
Theodore Roosevelt
TRNP Wildlife Watching: Theodore Roosevelt National Park provides great opportunities for experiencing wildlife, hosting 50 mammalian species, 157 bird species, nine reptilian and six amphibian species as permanent or seasonal residents. Twilight hours in the morning or evening are prime times for viewing deer, elk and other secretive species. Bison, prairie dogs, raptors and other conspicuous species can be viewed at all hours. Visitors are urged to drive slowly and watch for animals crossing the road, and use binoculars or a telephoto lens for safe viewing. Check at visitor centers for more information on wildlife viewing tips, park policies and regulations.
The NPS strives to establish self-regulating ecosystems on park lands. Proactive and research-based techniques help maintain wildlife for visitors to enjoy. Native animals including pronghorn, elk, bighorn sheep and bison were all successfully reintroduced to Theodore Roosevelt National Park to restore natural ecology. Look for these charismatic species along the park's scenic roads, or hike trails initially cut into the badlands by bison long ago.
The park's south unit also hosts a herd of feral horses, while the north unit has longhorn steers.
Visit www.nps.gov/thro to plan your trip.
Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site
Imagine a busy earth lodge village full of life and excitement. That was the intent of the U.S. Congress in 1974 when it established Knife River Indian Villages National Historic site to preserve and interpret an area rich with history and culture.
At Knife River, located near Stanton in Mercer County, it is easy to imagine women sitting on platforms singing to their gardens, girls playing with homemade leather dolls, boys practicing with their first bow and arrow, old men smoking tobacco and laughing at each other's stories.
You see faces from across North America and even the world, and hear Hidatsa and Mandan and maybe even Lakota, English, French or German. Perhaps you can smell corn boiling in a clay pot, sage smoke filling the air, and sweet wildflower scents blowing in from the prairie, or hear the howling winds of a winter blizzard.
The Knife River site was a major American Indian trade center for hundreds of years prior to becoming an important market place for fur traders after 1750. The earth lodge people who lived there hunted bison and other game, but they were in essence farmers living in villages along the Missouri River and its tributaries.
Recreation and Education: The park's museum provides an inside look at the history and culture of the Hidatsa people. Outside is a full-scale, reconstructed earth lodge, Hidatsa garden and drying racks. On the village trail are the remains of the Awatixa Xi'e Village (Lower Hidatsa Site) and Awatixa Village (Sakakawea Site). Hike the North Forest Trail loop through bottomland forest and native prairie and continue onto the Missouri overlook loop for spectacular views of the Missouri River. Upon entering the forest, you can also choose to walk on the Big Hidatsa Trail to the Hidatsa village (Big Hidatsa Site). Grab your binoculars and spot raptors, waterfowl, warblers and many other birds that frequent this historically significant area.
Visit www.nps.gov/knri to plan your trip.
Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site
In 1828, on the spacious plains near where the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers joined, John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company built what became its most famous fur trade post. Although called a fort, the post was neither a government nor a military installation, but a privately owned commercial establishment founded to engage in business with the Northern Plains tribes.
Built at the request of the Assiniboine nation, Fort Union Trading Post, then called Fort Union, quickly emerged as the Upper Missouri's most profitable fur trade post. This trade business continued until 1867, giving rise to a uniquely diverse, peaceful, and productive social and cultural environment that helped make Fort Union western America's longest-lasting fur trade post.
From 1828 to 1867, seven Upper Missouri tribes – Assiniboine, Plains Cree, Blackfeet, Plains Chippewa, Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara – traded buffalo hides, beaver pelts, and other furs for hundreds of goods imported from eight countries. In exchange for furs that ranged from grizzly bear and bison to mice, tribal trading partners received manufactured materials such as calico cloth, guns and ammunition, clothing, pipes, beads and cooking ware.
On average, the post received more than 25,000 buffalo robes and sold more than $100,000 in merchandise each year. The post also provided federal Indian agents with a base of operations and storage warehouse before the national government established a permanent presence in the Trans-Mississippi West after the Civil War.
Recreation and Education: Each year on the third weekend in June, more than 100 re-enactors from across the country and Canada demonstrate traditional skills and lifeways. The primary focus of this rendezvous event is to portray and recreate the historic trade culture and daily life including activities, camping equipment, fashion and weapons common on the Northern Plains during Fort Union's period of significance.
This annual gathering is the fort's largest event, and is a time when Fort Union comes alive and best reflects the busy trade season. It is a prime time to participate in the upper Missouri's finest fur trade fair at one of the West's most imposing historic sites.
Visit www.nps.gov/fous to plan your trip.
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail follows the route of the Corps of Discovery from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean. Sites along the trail in North Dakota include Fort Clark Archeological District, Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site and Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site. Visit www.nps.gov/lecl to plan your trip to follow the Corps route as they discovered new flora, fauna, geology and historic sites now preserved for us today.
North Country National Scenic Trail
The North Country Scenic Trail runs from New York to North Dakota, and it's never far from a great outdoor adventure. When completed, the trail will be the longest continuous hiking trail in the United States. The trail links scenic, natural, historic and cultural areas across seven states, allowing visitors to experience a variety of northern landscapes. For more information visit: www.nps.gov/noco or www.northcountrytrail.org.
AMY McCANN is an interpretive ranger and centennial coordinator at Theodore Roosevelt National Park at Medora.
Park History
Establishing Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Within a short time after the death of Theodore Roosevelt on January 6, 1919, there were proposals to establish a memorial in his honor. Various studies took place across the country that included ideas for national parks, monuments, wildlife refuges, and scenic roads as well as state parks.
Sylvane Ferris, a friend and business associate of Roosevelt during his cattle ranching days in the Dakota Badlands, appointed a committee to pick a site and Medora was selected. The 1921 North Dakota legislature instructed their representatives in Congress to assist by setting land aside for a park.
The Little Missouri badlands were explored in 1924 by a party of 40 to outline an area for a Roosevelt national park. This tour resulted in the formation of the Roosevelt Memorial National Park Association (later, the Great North Dakota Association). The following year, a tour of "cowboys and Congressmen," a larger group of federal, state, and regional officials plus interested parties and news media conducted an inspection camping trip through the "Grand Canyon of the Little Missouri," which cemented the park idea. One early plan called for a 2,030 square mile park. This proposal was not without its critics because the land was too valuable for local ranchers and their livestock.
Roger Toll, Superintendent of Rocky Mountain National Park, submitted a report on the proposed park to National Park Service Director Stephen T. Mather in 1928 in which he favored the establishment of a small national monument stating, "A national park does not seem to be justified."
Again, various studies, proposals and counter-proposals for a park took place. Some suggested a national forest be established. Then came the "dirty thirties." Drought, overgrazing, and crop failures forced many homesteaders to sell their land to the federal government. In western North Dakota land was acquired mainly for setting up leased grazing and rehabilitation. Today, most of what was purchased under the auspices of the Resettlement Act is now part of the Little Missouri National Grasslands.
A portion of these new federal holdings was earmarked for a park. In 1934 a cooperative agreement to start a Roosevelt Regional Park Project was signed by the Resettlement Administration, the Civilian Conservation Corps, National Park Service and the state of North Dakota. The federal government wanted the project to become a state park.
The CCC operations began immediately and were administered by National Park Service employees. The north and south Roosevelt Regional Parks had their own camps. By 1935, these sites were designated the Roosevelt Recreation Demonstration Area. Development by workers from the CCC, as well as Works Projects Administration and Emergency Relief Administration, included construction of roads, trails, picnic areas, campgrounds and buildings.
All projects ended in 1941. Who would accept management responsibility for this land was still uncertain. When North Dakota's state government announced that it did not want the land as a state park, approval was obtained in 1942 to retain the RDA for the purpose of study for possible inclusion into the National Park System. North Dakota Representative William Lemke championed the fight to establish a national park, an action which met resistance from NPS officials. The next few years saw further studies and political maneuvering.
In November 1946, the RDA was officially transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge after legislation to establish a park was vetoed because some felt the area did not possess those qualities that merit national park ranking. Undaunted, Lemke pressed on.
Finally, on April 25, 1947, after several compromises, President Truman signed the bill that created Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park. This included lands that roughly make up the south unit and the Elkhorn Ranch site today. The north unit was added to the memorial park on June 12, 1948. Additional boundary revisions were made in later years.
As a memorial park, it was the only one of its kind in the National Park System. Eventually, in addition to a connection with a president, the land was recognized for its diverse cultural and natural resources. On November 10, 1978, the area was given national park status when President Carter signed Public Law 95-625 that changed the memorial park to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. This same law placed 29,920 acres of the park under the National Wilderness Preservation System.
Today, the 70,448-acre Theodore Roosevelt National Park is home to a variety of plants and animals, and continues to memorialize the 26th president for his enduring contributions to the safekeeping and protection of our nation's resources.
- Source: National Park Service website -