Hiking to New Horizons

For six weeks, I’ve been energized by the conversations I’ve had with Badlands Conservation Alliance members, partners, and the board, as well as numerous others. Like the horizon in the Badlands, I’m humbled by the enormity of the work ahead.

A group of fourteen hiking in Theodore Roosevelt National Park with the river and horizon in the distance.

This spring, I hiked Bullion and White Butte. Visiting Theodore Roosevelt National Park on the weekends for the TRNHA bird walk or a BCA outing is a blessing. While I drive the rural scoria roads in western North Dakota, I often think, “This is not work. I’m invigorated by the experiences I feel on this land.” There are a great deal of quiet, contemplative moments as I radically upended my life to move to Bismarck, find an apartment, and begin with BCA at age 46. Can you imagine? Mainly, I work alone, and it’s refreshing that I can do it while following my heart, intuition and passion for the Badlands. It reminds me of when I was younger and lived in Alaska and Vermont as a *VISTA. It felt right, even though I knew no one other than the people who I worked with on a daily basis.

I’m grateful to have been born into a family with an independent business that taught me, early on, how to balance a variety of responsibilities at once. As a staff of one, I’m doing administrative work, responding to messages, and getting up to speed on issues and files. I’m setting an efficient routine and, at the close of each week, I take time to review the upcoming deadlines and events.

I’m looking forward to the BCA annual meeting on October 7th and I’m excited to announce that Tweed Roosevelt will be the keynote speaker at the Heritage Center in Bismarck. We’re discussing an invitation to the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library to give a slide presentation of the updated design to BCA members. On October 14th, following the TR Symposium in Dickinson, BCA Board Vice President Clay Jenkinson will lead an outing at Elkhorn Ranch. This will be a great opportunity to share the BCA mission and recruit new supporters. A visit to the TR Center in Dickinson is a must see for all BCA members!

Join BCA

BCA needs new, younger members. How do we reach out to them? This is my daily question as I strategize our work. We all need to stretch ourselves to grow BCA. We need donor development and funds to thoroughly compete and achieve our goals. BCA is actively working towards a monument designation in western ND! I’ll be thrilled to share more details when they become available. We need additional help and financial support to get over the finish line.

You can renew your membership on our website, or make a one-time contribution to Badlands Conservation Alliance, a 501(c)3 non-profit.

On July 5th, a group of board members will be gathering to work on our white paper. BCA must be proactive. The white paper will cover issues and solutions that we’ll diligently work on together in the days, weeks and years ahead. This work is meaningful and necessary. It requires immediate attention. The success of BCA is crucial for present and future generations.

Thank you for your support!

Shannon Straight
Executive Director
Badlands Conservation Alliance