A charitable organization is giving $4 million to the South Dakota Parks and Wildlife Foundation to build a new Bison Center at Custer State Park.
The Helmsley Charitable Trust announced the gift Friday during the park’s annual Buffalo Roundup.
The park will use the money to build the new center near the existing buffalo corrals. The center will educate visitors about the park’s bison herd, which numbers nearly 1,300.
Gov. Kristi Noem said the park needs additional donations to build the $5 million center. She joked about that with a crowd at the roundup.
“So that’s why we invited you all here today," she said. "So we’re just going to have a show of hands. Who gives the next hundred-thousand?”
Actually, the first additional $100,000 has already been pledged by Walter Panzirer, of Pierre. He's one of the trustees of the Helmsley Charitable Trust. He's also a grandson of the late Leona Helmsley, one of the trust's namesakes.
"At the Helmsley Charitable Trust, we’re into rural healthcare," Panzirer said. "That’s what we do for the seven upper Midwest states. And this, in my mind, ties to health. This encourages people to get out into the open. This encourages people to get into the outdoors, enjoy the parks, be more physically active and be out here loving nature.”
Park officials plan to open the Bison Center by the spring of 2022.
-SDPB's Brian Gevik contributed to this report.
