A very welcome quick read from the South Dakota Searchlight. I'm happy to see Fort Sisseton State Park and Pickerel Lake Recreation Area on the list.
Like many Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate men freed from the camp at Fort Snelling after the 1862 US-Dakota War, Charles Crawford--my romantic partner's ancestor--served as a scout out of Fort Sisseton.
Nonprofit launches $10 million campaign for South Dakota parks and recreation areas
By Joshua HaiarSIOUX FALLS — A foundation that helps fund outdoor recreation projects in South Dakota has launched a $10 million fundraising campaign.
The five-year effort aims to support 28 projects across the state that would otherwise face delays due to budget constraints.
Representatives of the South Dakota Parks and Wildlife Foundation discussed the campaign at the Downtown Sioux Falls Rotary Club’s Monday meeting at the Holiday Inn Sioux Falls City Centre. The foundation works with the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks to fund projects that improve outdoor recreational facilities and conserve wildlife habitats.
The campaign is titled “Great Places Don’t Just Happen.”
“Without the foundation’s help, these projects are going to take years and years to happen,” said Jeff VanMeeteren, GF&P director of parks and recreation.
The projects range from amphitheaters, hiking trail bridges and playgrounds to a proposed $1 million west-side welcome center for Custer State Park.
Kevin Nyberg, foundation board member and president of the South Dakota Retailers Association, highlighted the economic impact of outdoor recreation in the state, which he said amounts to $1.3 billion annually. He said that includes $638 million from hunting, $271 million from fishing and $212 million from parks.
“Those businesses that benefit off the system, in my opinion, need to realize the system helped make them, and give back to the system,” Nyberg said.
In addition to the campaign, the foundation is raising $3 million for an expansion of the Outdoor Campus in Sioux Falls. The project will feature new indoor and outdoor archery ranges, a game processing space with a walk-in cooler, a meat smoking and grilling space, and an improved bird viewing area.
Past foundation projects include funding the new visitor center and renovation of the Peter Norbeck Outdoor Education Center at Custer State Park. The foundation has also supported the development of Good Earth State Park, and the expansions of Rapid City’s Outdoor Campus and Palisades State Park near Garretson.
The foundation took in $1.38 million in revenue in 2023 and spent $4.5 million, leaving it with $12.4 million in total assets. Kristina Coby, the foundation’s executive development director, said those assets include land the foundation owns and makes money on through leasing agreements, and endowment principal that the foundation cannot touch.
Project list
Projects that would benefit from the South Dakota Parks and Wildlife Foundation’s $10 million campaign:
- Mickelson Trail: Kaubisch Bridge replacement; Signage
- Palisades State Park: Split Rock Creek bridge; Amphitheater; Playground surfacing
- Fort Sisseton State Park: Displays; Playground; Visitor center; Amphitheater/Event stage
- Hartford Beach State Park: Indoor fish cleaning station
- Oakwood Lakes State Park: Education center
- Lake Herman State Park: Education center
- Lake Poinsett Recreation Area: Indoor fish cleaning station
- Custer State Park: Welcome Center West
- Good Earth State Park: Playground; Observation deck
- Walkers Point Recreation Area: Picnic shelter
- Lake Thompson Recreation Area: Picnic shelter
- Pickerel Lake Recreation Area: Picnic shelter
- Big Sioux Recreation Area: Picnic shelter; Amphitheater
- Adams Homestead: Playground additions
- Lewis and Clark Recreation Area: Playground
- Springfield Recreation Area: One to five-acre land acquisition
- Wall Lake Lakeside Use Area: Island access bridge
- Newton Hills State Park: Sargent Creek overlook platform
- Cow Creek Recreation Area: Playground
- Spring Creek Golf Course: Trail
This South Dakota Searchlight article is republished online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Photo: Fort Sisseton State Park, in Marshall County, South Dakota: officers' quarters, seen from the east. Via Wikipedia.
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