Park Regulations & Safety

Permits

Badlands National Park's rugged beauty and spectacular scenery lead many to consider its use as a backdrop for filming, organized activities, or wedding ceremonies. A special park use is a short-term activity, like those mentioned, that occurs in a National Park Service area and:

Special park uses, if approved, require the issuance of Special Use Permits and payment of permit fees before the activity can be held in the park. Special Use Permits must be acquired for commercial and independent filming, weddings, and commercial photography.

Application for Special Use Permit

Application for Commercial Filming/Still Photography Permit

To apply for a Special Use Permit, print and complete the appropriate form above, attach any required fees, and mail it to the address specified on the form. For further information about obtaining a Special Use Permit or determining if your activity needs a permit, please contact the Revenue and Fee Business Manager.

Park Planning

Prairie Dog Management Plan and Environmental Assessment (Plan/EA) (6.42 MB PDF)

The National Park Service (NPS) and Badlands National Park are seeking comments on this management plan until September 7, 2007. The NPS objective for this plan is to ensure the black-tailed prairie dog population remains a viable and key factor in the park ecosystem, while providing strategies for controlling prairie dog expansion to private lands along the park boundary.

The NPS will be conducting two public meetings on the Plan/EA and its findings. The meetings will be held on Wednesday, August 22 at the Community Center in Wall, SD from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and on Thursday, August 23 in the Badlands Room, Best Western Ramkota Hotel and Conference Center in Rapid City from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

If you cannot attend either meeting, but still wish to submit comments, feel free to submit them via email or call Julie Johndreau at (605) 433-5242.

South Unit General Management Plan

The National Park Service (NPS) has recently begun working on a General Management Plan (GMP) for the South Unit of Badlands National Park. The NPS and Oglala Sioux Tribe are preparing preliminary alternatives for management of the South Unit and invite the public to submit comments and suggestions.

In 2000, the NPS requested and received public comments on a GMP inclusive of both the North and South Units of the park. However, in 2004, the NPS decided to complete separate plans for each unit; the two GMPs together will describe a plan for management of Badlands National Park for the next 15-20 years.

Those earlier comments related to operations, cultural and natural resource management, visitor education and experience, and park access. At this time, the NPS South Unit GMP team welcomes new issues and concerns about the management of the South Unit by contacting Badlands National Park Superintendent Paige Baker PhD by telephone at (605) 433-5361, by mail at Badlands National Park, 25216 Ben Reifel Road, P.O.Box 6, Interior, SD 57750, or by email.

Newsletter #1 Winter 2008 (693 KB PDF)

Comment Form Winter 2008 (59 KB PDF) -Comments pertaining to the first newsletter are due by April 11, 2008.

Spring 2008 Open House Meetings Schedule