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9/24/2005
Rapid City Journal (S.D.) – Reptiles, wilderness and the future of our regional economy
- John Brockelsby

When my father, Earl, started Reptile Gardens, it was a dream with big economic potential. That first day in June 1937, the gross receipts were $3.85, but over the years we've become one of the premier tourist attractions in the Midwest. Earl's dream has become a significant part of the Black Hills regional economy. Our family is proud of this success and the job-building, wage-paying benefits our business has contributed to this region.

This region has so much to offer our visitors that we can all appreciate how tourism is a main driver of our economy and our stable, growing communities. We can keep it this way, but that requires us to be smart about how we grow. Good schools are as important as good jobs. And the diversity of what we have for visitors is the very bedrock of our bright economic future. So, it is just good business for us to protect all that is special - indeed, unique - in making our region such a magnet for the traveling public.

The diversity of our offerings is really the key. My business is one part of a spectrum of opportunities that attracts all kinds of people. One of our visitors commented that not only is Reptile Gardens entertaining, "it is a challenge to the learned mind." Another wrote: "It was wonderful to be able to get so close to the deadly snakes." Those visitors were looking for authentic experiences. Everything we know about the tourism industry says that Americans are increasingly seeking just that - authentic experiences, chances to learn and grow, and a strong connection with the natural world.

In short, there is gold - real gold - in our unmatched and diverse natural landscapes. Some are drawn by the visages of presidents on Mount Rushmore, others by reptiles, bears or mammoth bones, still others by a chance to hike beyond the edge of the road into our forested hills and stunning badlands. It all adds up - because we can provide something for everyone. And that rings cash registers for every kind of business, from Rapid City to the smallest crossroads community.

I've had all this in mind as I've studied the idea that the U.S. Forest Service under President George W. Bush recommended a couple of years ago to protect several special parts of the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands as designated wilderness areas. To my mind, that is a smart business idea for South Dakotans.

Not everyone will choose to strap on a backpack to hike out into a grassland wilderness area such as Red Shirt or Indian Creek. But some will, and others will come to picnic or bird watch or hunt, or to take a look across the seemingly endless vista of places that are wild, natural and deeply moving. These are small areas, but from vantage points on the edge of the road motorists stepping from their cars can get an idea of the sweeping wildness that was the Dakota country at the time of Lewis and Clark. A wilderness vista without road or vehicle is something special - a panorama of the original America. Preserving a few such places is smart business because it helps assure that we anchor the spectrum of our recreational offerings with some areas that are as wild and free as we can leave them.

At Reptile Gardens we show sightseers many species in an educational but inherently unnatural setting. But we help educate people about these wonderful creatures and their place in Earth's natural order of things. Visitors often ask us about where this animal or that one lives in its wild habitat. And we draw the connection to the importance of preserving these as part of God's grand, wild creation.

I support the Cheyenne River Valley Heritage Proposal. It's an initiative of the South Dakota Grasslands Wilderness Coalition, made up of groups such as the Badlands Sportsmen, American Prairie Foundation and the South Dakota Wildlife Federation. It builds on the Bush Administration/Forest Service recommendations in a good way, based on careful field studies. It protects established rights, notably the existing grazing permits of area ranchers. What sportsman and TV show host Tony Dean says of this proposal matches my own conclusion: "The farther you travel from a road, the better the hunting you'll find - and we're running out of such places. That's why I support grasslands wilderness in South Dakota."

This well-documented citizen proposal just makes good business sense for a region so blessed with - and so dependent on - the diversity fundamental to a strong tourism economy. I'm counting on our congressional delegation to see it implemented.

Brockelsby is the son of the founder of Reptile Gardens, Earl Brockelsby.