SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — With the North Shore campground being reopened, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineering details what led to its former closure and now reopening.
The north shore campground at the Big Bend near Fort Thompson will reopen on May 15, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said in a Monday news release.
The Army Corps announced in April that multiple campgrounds and power station tours would temporarily close this season.
Andrew Nystrom, Public Affairs Specialist with the US Army Corps of Engineers, said in a Tuesday KELOLAND News interview the reason for the temporary closures was because of broader workforce and resource challenges all across federal agencies this season.
“Some of my district weren’t able to bring on board seasonal staff that were selected to manage and maintain many of our recreation areas and without those positions we can’t safely operate those sites or meet environmental and mission critical needs,” Nystrom said.
The main reason they were able to reopen the grounds is because of support from volunteers.
“The good folks there near Big Bend, stepped up and have provided a volunteer, who will take on some of those duties to help reopen that, that site.” Nystrom said. “By handling, the day to day upkeep, the volunteers free up our permanent staff to focus on other critical tasks like safety and security patrols or safety inspections of the facilities, things like that.”
“We’re grateful to our volunteers and local partners for helping us restore access to this popular recreation site,” Jacki Bultsma, deputy operations project manager at Big Bend, said in a news release from earlier this week. “Their support ensures we can provide a safe and welcoming experience for our visitors.”
The North Shore Campground was the only campground within the state to experience closures, but several North Dakota campgrounds experienced closures.
Nystrom said while all closures were temporary the Army Corps is still coordinating to get all the sites back up and running.
“All of these closures were were temporary and and we’re coordinating with our higher headquarters to try and open these as as soon as possible, but again, safety is our main and primary concern of of folks visiting and so we’re gonna be real selective about that and make sure that it’s done correctly,” he said.
Nystrom said as of now the Army Corps is not adding any additional closures, but it will be monitoring any future changes.
You can find the full list of closed sites here.
