Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Facility Revitalization Plan & Environmental Assessment Public Review
Introduction
The National Park Service (NPS) is Seeking Your Input
Between August 16 and September 14, 2022, you are invited to review the draft Facility Revitalization Plan and Environmental Assessment for Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park is undergoing this planning effort to evaluate redevelopment concepts to meet current and future park needs including improving the visitor experience, meeting administrative functions, and providing improved employee housing. This planning effort represents the first comprehensive evaluation of potential improvements in more than four decades.
How to Participate?
Click on any of the "Respond Here!" buttons to share your input on the NPS Planning, Environment and Public Comment website.
After addressing public comments on this draft, the park will finalize the document. Projects will be implemented over the course of decades as opportunity allows, and all future projects will undergo detailed design and any necessary compliance. We rely on your feedback to help guide our stewardship, so please take an active role and offer your unique perspective on the concepts being proposed at this time.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park Vision:
Theodore Roosevelt National Park is poised to become the hub of Theodore Roosevelt associated heritage sites. Together the park and its partners will expand the preservation, understanding, and promotion of President Theodore Roosevelt's story, philosophy, and conservation legacy.
Visitation Increases:
Visitation has increased by over 65% since 2011 and is anticipated to grow with the 2026 completion of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. Visitor and administrative facility improvements would improve critical infrastructure, address greater visitation, and enhance the visitor experience while conserving and protecting resources.
The accompanying map shows visitation numbers in the North Unit and the South Unit in 2011 and in 2021. Swipe the bar back and forth over the map to switch between the population bubbles.
North Unit:
- 2011 Visits = 60,573
- 2021 Visits = 104,813
South Unit:
- 2011 Visits = 498,320
- 2021 Visits = 686,756
Plan Purpose and Process:
Identify facility investment needs in each developed area
Leverage an unprecedented opportunity for partner engagement
Provide a prioritized strategic implementation plan to address aging infrastructure and deferred maintenance
Click Image to Enlarge
Park Tour - Overview
Three Units:
Theodore Roosevelt National Park preserves 70,446 acres in three areas of rugged, beautiful badlands in southwestern North Dakota. The park’s two most visited units, the North and South Units, are separated by an hour and 15 minute drive.
Park Tour - Overview
South Unit:
The 46,158-acre South Unit is 133 miles west of Bismarck, North Dakota, and 27 miles east of the North Dakota–Montana state border. The South Unit entrance is located in the city of Medora, North Dakota, and accessed via Interstate 94 (I-94), Exits 2 and 27. The South Unit visitor center is just inside the park entrance in Medora. The South Unit’s Painted Canyon Visitor Center is located 7 miles east of Medora at Exit 32 off I-94.
Park Tour - Overview
North Unit:
The North Unit’s 24,070 acres are accessed via U.S. Highway 85, approximately 14 miles south of Watford City, North Dakota, and 50 miles north of Belfield, North Dakota.
Park Tour - Overview
Elkhorn Ranch:
The 218-acre Elkhorn Ranch Unit is more remote than the others, located between the South and North Units. It is approximately 45 miles north of the South Unit Visitor Center along I-94 West and Belle Lake Road.
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Park Tour
PAINTED CANYON
Painted Canyon offers travelers a glimpse into the colorful badlands of Theodore Roosevelt National park. The Little Missouri River, its tributaries, and each passing rain shower sculpt away the rolling plains, giving form to the rugged badlands that awe visitors and inspired young Theodore Roosevelt.
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Park Tour
MEDORA AREA
Conveniently located along I-94, the South Unit is the park’s most visited area. The Medora area includes a visitor center, a scenic drive, hiking trails, and plenty of watchable wildlife to entice visitors to stay a while. The South Unit’s small but bustling gateway town, Medora, is an attraction in its own right.
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Park Tour
PEACEFUL VALLEY
Peaceful Valley Ranch was built in the 1880s and served as a dude ranch from 1918 to the 1930s. The ranch and its owners assisted in the establishment of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, with the area serving as the first park headquarters and visitor center from 1947 until the new buildings for those purposes were completed in Medora in the early 1960s.
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Park Tour
NORTH UNIT
The North Unit is 15 miles south of Watford City, North Dakota, accessed via U.S. Highway 85. Almost all the land area of the North Unit consists of the Theodore Roosevelt Wilderness, except for a narrow corridor along the unit’s 14-mile scenic drive. Visitation to the North Unit has increased as Watford City and the surrounding region have grown.
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Park Tour
ELKHORN RANCH
The Elkhorn Ranch Unit preserves the place Theodore Roosevelt selected to be his “home ranch” after the deaths of his wife and mother. This unit of the park has a special, solemn character. There are no visitor centers, facilities, or scenic roads, but driving to the unit and hiking to the site of his ranch is quite scenic.
Parkwide Issues/ Needs
Housing
Provide sufficient, diverse, and modernized park housing with a variety of prototype units that will accommodate staffing changes and ensure adequate recruitment and retention
Invest in our Workforce - Invest in assets that support employee recruitment, retention, and wellbeing while improving the work environment in alignment with workplace goals. This includes replacing housing units and administrative facilities that have exceeded their service life.
Parkwide Issues/ Needs
Aging Utilities and Transportation/ Circulation Systems
- Update utility systems to protect park resources, ensure sustainability, and establish resiliency
- Increase capacity of utility and transportation systems for visitor use, yearround services, safer travel and quality of experience
- Improved circulation and parking for efficient passage of modern sized vehicles
Invest in Our Future - Sustainable opportunities to improve facilities or operations while making natural resource preservation a priority
Invest in Our Visitors - Meet visitor needs and expectations by modernizing critical infrastructure to eliminate health, safety, and liability risks. Investment results in safe, accessible, enhanced, and reliable recreational opportunities
Parkwide Issues/ Needs
Maintenance/ Administration
- Establish right-sized workspaces required for all job functions and in compliance with federal regulations
- Ensure staff have safe, accessible, comfortable, modern workspaces
Invest in Our Future - Sustainable opportunities to improve facilities or operations while making natural resource preservation a priority
Invest in Our Workforce - Invest in assets that support employee recruitment, retention, and wellbeing while improving the work environment in alignment with workplace goals. This includes replacing housing units and administrative facilities that have exceeded their service life.
Closet without AC Turned into Server Room
Closet Turned into Office
Closet Turned into IT Office
Park Resources Building
Medora Maintenance Area Entrance
Parkwide Issues/ Needs
Visitor Orientation and Services
- Provide visitor facilities that incorporate safety, accessibility, sustainability, and universal design to accommodate projected visitation growth and capture uncollected revenue
Invest in Our Visitors - Meet visitor needs and expectations by modernizing critical infrastructure to eliminate health, safety, and liability risks. Investment results in safe, accessible, enhanced, and reliable recreational opportunities.
South Unit Visitor Center Exhibit/ Sales Space
South Unit Visitor Center Entry/ Lobby
North Unit Temporary Visitor Center Trailers
North Unit Temporary Visitor Center Trailers and Restroom
North Unit Visitor Center Full Parking
Potential Concepts/ Ideas -North Unit
Vision:
This unit's vision is to celebrate wilderness, outdoor recreation, and growing municipalities and their diverse residents while implementing Theodore Roosevelt's legacy of conservation with unique partnerships that model novel resource conservation methods.
Needs:
- Relocation of aging sewage lagoons threatened by the Little Missouri River
- Additional housing quantity and unit type
- Maintenance buildings adequate to service and protect park equipment
- An orientation and administration office facility in a stable location not affected by natural processes (erosion, landslide, coal fire)
- Improved visitor experience to leverage partner support
North Unit Welcome Sign
Priorities:
- Relocate sewage facilities threatened by the Little Missouri River for sustainability and effective operations
- Replace and relocate failed visitor information/orientation and administrative office facility to a stable location not affected by natural processes (erosion, landslide, coal fire) and suitable for visitor and staffing needs
- Relocate entrance station for visitor safety, enhanced circulation, and efficient fee collection
- Provide appropriate quantity and variety of housing to accommodate growing staffing needs
- Establish appropriately sized and winterized maintenance facilities adequate to service and protect park equipment
Master Plan Vision:
North Unit Proposed Action Graphic Legend
The level of investment and development would depend on funding availability, future reviews, and the extent to which partners are available.
Potential Concepts/ Ideas - Medora Area
Vision:
This unit's vision is to revitalize and modernize visitor and administrative facilities that will support the future of Theodore Roosevelt's conservation legacy and complement the future Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library nearby and the town of Medora. The vision also includes a greater web of visitor experience that will serve future visitors by fostering new partnership opportunities and efficient park operations.
Needs:
- Additional housing quantity and unit type
- Maintenance buildings adequate to service and protect park equipment
- Staff workspaces that meet minimum requirements for size, quantity, and safety
- Visitor experience can be enhanced by fostering partner support
Medora Area Welcome Sign
Priorities:
- Provide housing variety and additional quantity to accommodate staffing changes and promote recruitment, retention and diversity
- Expand entrance station capacity to accommodate increasing visitation, provide a safe entry experience, and eliminate traffic congestion stemming from park traffic
- Increase parking and improve circulation for modern vehicles
- Improve visitor experience with upgraded visitor discovery and orientation center and provide protection for the Maltese Cross Cabin
- Upgrade maintenance facilities to adequately provide services, protect equipment investment, and establish safe, efficient work areas
- Create sufficient workspaces required for all administrative functions
Master Plan Vision:
Medora Area Proposed Action Graphic Legend
The level of investment and development would depend on funding availability, future reviews, and the extent to which partners are available.
Potential Concepts/ Ideas -Painted Canyon
Vision:
This unit's vision is to transform Painted Canyon Visitor Center into a year-round, multi-agency information facility, gateway to western national parks, and wildfire response center. This vision could add a fee collection point and enhance recreational access for picnicking, wildlife viewing, hiking, and horseback riding.
Needs:
- Year-round operable water/ sewer system
- Centralized fire response center for National Park Service, USDA Forest Service, and State of North Dakota
- A feeling of connection to the park and the National Park Service for visitors
- Fee collection in current non-fee area
- Enhanced recreational opportunities: hiking, horseback riding, picnicking, experiencing the scenic vista overlook
Painted Canyon Visitor Center (Existing)
Priorities:
- Install utility infrastructure including a year-round operable water and wastewater system
- Partner with multiple agencies for an effective, centralized fire management and response facility
- Increase recreational access via improved trailheads, horse trailer parking, a picnic area, and interpretative areas
- Transform aging visitor center into an enhanced visitor experience that provides orientation to western North Dakota tourism sites, recreational activities, and heritage areas
Painted Canyon Overlook
Master Plan Vision:
Painted Canyon Proposed Action Graphic Legend
The level of investment and development would depend on funding availability, future reviews, and the extent to which partners are available.
Potential Concepts/ Ideas - Peaceful Valley Ranch
Vision:
This unit's vision consists of adaptive reuse of the newly rehabilitated Peaceful Valley Ranch for proposed environmental education activities.
Needs:
- Increased sewer capacity for year-round use
- Environmental education programming and facilities
- Existing and proposed facilities need to be compatible with the cultural landscape recommendations to preserve and protect this historic district
Peaceful Valley Site (Existing)
Priorities:
- Upgrading infrastructure in a way compatible with the historic structures and the cultural landscape, accommodating increased visitation and use
- Improved safety for parking and vehicle circulation, enhancing navigation and access in the area
- Expansion of environmental education programming opportunities coordinate with multiple partners
Master Plan Vision:
Peaceful Valley Ranch Proposed Action Graphic Legend
The level of investment and development would depend on funding availability, future reviews, and the extent to which partners are available.
Potential Concepts/ Ideas - Elkhorn Ranch
Vision:
This unit's vision is to preserve the Cradle of Conservation, a unique sense of place offered by the land that healed Theodore Roosevelt's heart after a period of profound grief and later inspired his conservation legacy. This land continues to inspire visitors and conservation professionals today.
Needs:
- Archaeological site preservation and interpretation
- Trailhead area improvements
Photograph of Theodore Roosevelt's Cabin at Elkhorn Ranch
Priorities:
- Enhance interpretive opportunities to provide inspiration and conservation ethic
- Improve visitor facilities protecting the historic resource
- Add additional signage to the site
Master Plan Vision:
Elkhorn Ranch Proposed Action Graphic Legend
The level of investment and development would depend on funding availability, future reviews, and the extent to which partners are available.
Unprecedented Partnership Opportunity
Potential Identified Partners:
- Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation
- Town of Medora
- Watford City
- Theodore Roosevelt Nature and History Association
- National Park Foundation
- Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation
- State of North Dakota
- Federal agencies - USFS, USFWS, BLM
- Educational Partners - Naturebridge
- Tribal Partners
- Maah Daah Hey Trail Association
- Trust for Historic Preservation
Next Steps
Please provide your input/comments:
- Review plan documents on PEPC
- Submit comments by September 14th
Elkhorn Ranch Unit - Grand View from Atop the Buttes
