Wind Cave National Park is Modifying Operations to Implement Latest Health Guidance

WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK, S.D. – Wind Cave National Park is announcing modifications to operations to implement the latest guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and local and state authorities to promote social distancing. As of noon on March 18, the Wind Cave National Park Visitor Center is closed until further notice.

This closure only affects the visitor center and cave. Park roads will remain open, as will the park’s 28,000 acres of mixed-grass prairie and ponderosa pine forest. Visitors can still view the park’s wildlife and hike any of its 30-miles of trails. Highways 385 and 87 will remain open. Gravel roads in the park’s backcountry, NPS 5 and 6, are open, but not maintained in the winter.

Visitors are encouraged to visit the park virtually, either by it’s website, www.nps.gov/wica, or on the park’s Facebook page. The website hosts podcasts, information about the park’s wildlife and history, along with hiking and camping activities, which are still available.

The health and safety of our visitors, employees, volunteers, and partners at Wind Cave National Park is our number one priority. The National Park Service (NPS) is working with the federal, state, and local authorities to closely monitor the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. We will notify the public when we resume full operations and provide updates on our website and social media channels.

The NPS urges visitors to do their part when visiting a park and to follow CDC guidance to prevent the spread of infectious diseases by maintaining a safe distance between yourself and other groups; washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds; avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth; covering your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze; and most importantly, staying home if you feel sick.

For high-risk populations, such as the elderly and people with underlying conditions, we ask that they take extra caution and follow CDC guidance for those at higher risk of serious illness.

Wind Cave National Park 26611 U.S. Highway 385 Hot Springs, SD 57747

605-745-4600 phone www.nps.gov
National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior
Wind Cave National Park 26611 U.S. Highway 385 Hot Springs, SD 57747

Wind Cave Names Acting Superintendent

 Leigh Welling Selected as Superintendent of Wind Cave National Park

Omaha, Neb. – National Park Service (NPS) Regional Director Herbert C. Frost announced the selection of Leigh Welling as the new superintendent of Wind Cave National Park located in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Welling will begin serving in the position November 8, 2020.

“I am pleased to welcome Leigh as superintendent of Wind Cave National Park,” said Frost. “She is a seasoned manager with experience at park, regional and national levels. Her background in geology and personal history in the area will be a great asset for the park and will provide a basis for strong partnerships that can benefit current and future generations.”  

“I’m so happy to be coming back to the Black Hills and Pine Ridge area,” Welling said about her new assignment. “Wind Cave National Park is truly special, for the wonders of the cave itself, for the unique mixed-grass prairie ecosystem it protects and for the historical, cultural and spiritual meaning it holds for many Native American tribes. I have vivid memories of time spent at Wind Cave when I was a child and feel a strong connection and sense of place to the people and the land here.”

Since 2015, Welling has worked for the Alaska Regional Office, first as the regional chief scientist and then as the associate regional director for science, communication, and partnerships. She began her career with the NPS in 2002 as director for the Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center at Glacier National Park in Montana. In 2007, Welling moved to Fort Collins, Colorado where she served as the national lead for climate change, eventually helping to establish and lead the NPS Climate Change Response Program in 2010.

Welling earned an undergraduate degree in Geology from the University of Colorado Boulder and a Masters and PhD in Oceanography from Oregon State University. Prior to her career in the NPS, she held positions at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, where she worked on practices to increase diversity and inclusion in earth science curricula, and at the University of North Dakota, where she was director of the Regional Earth Science Applications Center.

Welling was born in Crawford, Nebraska, about 50 miles south of Hot Springs. She grew up as the youngest child in a ranching family and attended Trunk Butte, a country school outside of Chadron, Nebraska. She spent most of her childhood outdoors and riding horseback, activities that she still enjoys today.

NPS

The National Park Service manages 61 park areas in 13 states (Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Arkansas, and North and South Dakota), from the Regional Office in Omaha.

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Thank you for your keen interest in Wind Cave National Park, a small and oft-time overlooked treasure of this Nation’s National Park system. Please check out our Membership page.

Friends of Wind Cave National Park, authorized as a 501-c-3 charitable non-profit organization, can legally function as the conduit for public support of the important and exciting experience at Wind Cave National Park. We ask for your support and remind you that your donation may be tax-deductible and serves as a gift for future generations to come! The Friends of Wind Cave greatly assists the Park, since the Park can't spend money outside of its boundaries. We can also accomplish some other needed tasks and goals much more efficiently than the Park because we aren't bound by some of the federal regulations and red tape.

The Park grew considerably in 2011, when it acquired 5556 acres in the Casey Ranch addition. The addition includes the historic Sanson Ranch, and a 4000 year old buffalo jump. Work in preparation for opening the historic ranch and buffalo jump to the public is currently underway in the park. The critical components are to secure the historic buildings on the site and to make sufficient improvements to assure public safety. Those monies have been designated through certain park channels and this initial work has begun. An access road to the addition was necessary before any of this work could be done.

Since the Park can't spend outside of the Park boundaries, the Friends of Wind Cave raised funds to build a one-mile gravel road, creating access to the Casey Ranch addition, a necessary improvement from the previous crude two-track dirt trail. The Friends raised nearly $70,000 from its members and others, to accomplish the building of this road. The National Guard was a key factor in the building of the road, or we likely wouldn't have been able to afford this construction project at this time. We still have some finishing work to do on the one mile of road, and we have a commitment for annual maintenance of this road, so Friends members and donors remain essential.

We are planning a celebration to thank all the Friends members and other donors when the additional work inside the Park is completed, hopefully in the summer of 2021, delayed by COVID pandemic from 2020. The significant donors of $1000 and over in this key road project will be recognized into the future on a plaque to be located at the Sanson Ranch.

Again, we thank our members and friends for their support in helping make the vision of opening the Sanson Ranch and buffalo jump for the public a reality. Wind Cave National Park is basically two parks in one, the above-ground treasures, as well as the cave itself.

Greatfully,
     Friends of Wind Cave National Park

    Friends groups exist across the United States as citizen based advocates for individual national parks. Friends groups are contractual partnerships enabling effective stewardship of these parks.  National Park budgets are established by the US government and typically cover only basic operating expenses.   Friends groups can provide community based fundraising for various projects to enhance the local park's interpretative programs or to maintain or install new infrastructure ranging from trails to buildings. Friends groups can receive and administer your ear-marked donation for specific projects.

    Friends of Wind Cave National Park values your participation, your enthusiasm and generous financial support in helping Wind Cave National Park be one of the true jewels of the National Park system and our national heritage. Please review the other tabs to learn more.