December 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 18

Member to Member
City Trash Becomes
City Treasure

A South Dakota park agency turns a town dump into a nature park
By Chase Ellis

W

hat happens to a landfill once the dumping has ceased and the
garbage piles are capped? Most people would not think a landfill
site could become a prime location for recreation activities. A few
towns have converted landfills into parks, and fewer still have created complex
ecosystems with educational outreach and recreational program opportunities.
In Brookings, South Dakota, the Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department
(BPRD) created its first landfill site park in the late '70s; however, it is the most
recently closed landfill site on the south edge of town that is creating great excitement in the community. The Dakota Nature Park site was purchased by the
city in the 1950s for a landfill, and after decades of use, the landfill was capped
in 1994. Upon its closing, the management of the site was turned over to BPRD.
During the years immediately after
the landfill was decommissioned, the
site was used for fishing, dog training and other self-guided recreational
activities by those who knew about
its clandestine existence. In the '60s,
topsoil had been salvaged from the

landfill site, creating a network for
four large ponds that are constantly
refreshed by the groundwater aquifer.
Four
years
ago, in partnership with
the
South

Dakota Department of Game, Fish
and Parks, BPRD began stocking
the ponds twice a year with rainbow
trout, crappie and largemouth bass,
supporting a diverse fishery that attracts anglers of all ages. BPRD Director Pete Colson states, " The close
proximity of the park to the city and
recreation trails makes family fishing
trips with smaller children an easy
and safe outdoor experience. We are
constantly trying to develop new ways
to promote healthy activities in the
outdoors and connect people, particularly children, with nature. "

Once a site for dumping refuse, the
grounds of the Dakota Nature Park now
attract people for fishing, boating, hiking
and other self-guided activities as well as
educational tours.

16

Parks & Recreation

| D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3 | W W W. N R PA . O R G



December 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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