03.28.13

Hoeven and U.S. Park Service Director Working with State, Badlands Communities to Keep Painted Canyon Overlook Open

Senator Working to Find Solution to Proposed Closure

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today said U.S. Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis has agreed to work with the senator to come up with options to keep the Painted Canyon Overlook in the North Dakota Badlands open to the public.

Hoeven said he has asked Jon Cameron, the senator’s western North Dakota field representative, to organize a Painted Canyon Overlook working group, including representatives from the Dickinson Convention and Visitors Bureau, Medora mayor’s office, Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation, North Dakota Tourism Division, North Dakota Department of Parks and Recreation, North Dakota Highway Patrol, and others with resources or ideas on how to keep the scenic overlook open.

The senator said the Park Service needs to be creative and work with communities to find solutions. For example, the facility could be managed by volunteers for part of the day, or arrangements could be made to manage the overlook jointly with one or more partners.

“Tourism today is one of our state’s largest industries, and we appreciate Director Jarvis’s understanding of that and his willingness to work with us,” Hoeven said. “Working with him and the affected communities, we will try to find a way to keep this remarkable sight open so that North Dakotans and visitors from across the nation and around the world can enjoy the beauty of our Badlands.”