Noem Cuts Proposed Custer State Park Campground Project By Half

      South Dakota Gov Kristi Noem is trimming her proposed new campground in Custer State Park from 75 acres and 175 campsites to 50 acres and 80 campsites in a different part of the park. The price tag drops by half to $5-million dollars.

     The original proposal ran into strong opposition, primarily because of its potential impact on private campgrounds in the Black Hills, and some lawmakers still want to see it scrapped all together because of that.

      State Senator Julie Frye Mueller of Rapid City says scaling back the project doesn’t address her primary concern of the state competing with the private sector, saying the government should stay out of it because the private sector can handle the need. 

       Noem’s office handed out a pamphlet touting the small proposal, but it focused more on the facts that the campground would not disrupt elk migration patterns or impact the Custer State Park bison herds.