The park protects 242,756 acres (379.3 sq mi; 982.4 km2)[1] of sharply eroded buttes and pinnacles, along with the largest undisturbed mixed grass prairie in the United States.

At the end of the 19th century, the Sioux Indians used this area as the site of the Ghost Dance, a ceremony to revive the souls of buffalo and the dead.

Archaeological records combined with oral traditions indicate that these people camped in secluded valleys where fresh water and game were available year-round.

Eroding out of the stream banks today are the rocks and charcoal of their campfires, as well as the arrowheads and tools they used to butcher bison, rabbits, and other game.

French-Canadian fur trappers called it "les mauvaises terres pour traverser," or "bad lands to travel through.

"[17] By one hundred and fifty years ago, the Great Sioux Nation consisting of seven bands including the Oglala Lakota, had displaced the other tribes from the northern prairie.

In the fall and early winter of 1890, thousands of Native Americans, including many Oglala Sioux, became followers of the Indian prophet Wovoka.

The band, led by Chief Spotted Elk,[18] was finally overtaken by the soldiers near Wounded Knee Creek in the Reservation and ordered to camp there overnight.

The history of the White River Badlands as a significant paleontological resource goes back to the traditional Native American knowledge of the area.

In 1870 a Yale professor, O. C. Marsh, visited the region and developed more refined methods of extracting and reassembling fossils into nearly complete skeletons.

From 1899 to today, the South Dakota School of Mines has sent people almost every year and remains one of the most active research institutions working in the White River Badlands.

Throughout the late 19th century and continuing today, scientists and institutions from all over the world have benefited from the fossil resources of the White River Badlands.

Then, many hopeful farmers traveled to South Dakota from Europe or the eastern United States to try to seek out a living in the area.

As part of the World War II effort, the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) took possession of 341,726 acres (533.9 sq mi; 1,382.9 km2) of land on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, home of the Oglala Sioux people, for a gunnery range.

Although 2,500 acres (3.9 sq mi; 10.1 km2) were retained by the USAF (but are no longer used) the majority of the land was turned over to the National Park Service.

Those that remained nearby recall times when they had to dive under tractors while out cutting hay to avoid bombs dropped by planes miles outside of the boundary.

In the town of Interior, both a church and the building housing the current post office were struck by six inch (152 mm) shells through the roof.

Pilots operating out of Ellsworth Air Force Base near Rapid City found it a real challenge to determine the exact boundaries of the range.

[20] Deep draws, high tables and rolling prairie are characteristic of these lands occupied by the earliest plains hunters, the paleo-Indians, and the Lakota Nation.

[21][22] The legislation's conditions for eventual proclamation included the acquisition of privately owned land within the proposed boundaries of the monument and the construction of a 30-mile highway through the park.

[26] Badlands National Park Superintendents[27] Animals that inhabit the park include:[4] badger, bighorn sheep, bison, black-billed magpie, black-footed ferret, black-tailed prairie dog, bobcat, coyote, elk, mule deer, pronghorn, prairie rattlesnake, porcupine, whooping crane, swift fox, and white-tailed deer.

In mixed-grass prairies, such as the grasslands surrounding Badlands National Park, grasses can range in height from ankle-high to waist-high.

The White River Visitors center in the park's South Unit offers information about the region's Lakota heritage.

Although camping and fishing are allowed with proper permit, no roads or buildings are constructed and there is also no logging or mining, in compliance with the 1964 Wilderness Act.

Badlands National Park has been impacted by the rise of oil and gas pipelines and drilling, the debate over Native American land rights, fossil loss due to criminal activity, and climate change.

Badlands National Park faces growing encroachment from oil and gas companies hoping to transport fossil fuels throughout regions of South Dakota.

Pipelines are associated with environmental risks; breaches and or breaks in the system have the potential to negatively impact the quality of life for surrounding ecosystems and wildlife.

The Badlands National Park also faces debate over the federal claims to the land once inhabited by the Oglala Lakota Sioux tribe.

Climate Change management within the park primarily focuses on native vegetation, bison populations, species rehabilitation, archeological and paleontological preservation, and infrastructure and geohazards.