BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation Board is endorsing some U.S. Forest Service land near Medora as the site for the Roosevelt library.
The 60-acre site is west of the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation’s Burning Hills Amphitheatre.
The board evaluated 11 sites in and around Medora and considered criteria such as land acquisition, regulatory compliance and infrastructure, the Bismarck Tribune reported.
Library CEO Ed O’Keefe on Monday stressed the library’s site selection is far from final because the land has to be acquired from the U.S. Forest Service.
“The immediate next steps are to work with them within their rules and regulation to acquire the land,” O’Keefe said. “They have a process and a procedure for this. There’s obviously more conversation to be had with the local community. Just because we say it’s our preferred site doesn’t mean that it’s a done deal.”
The Legislature has authorized a $50 million operations endowment for the library, but $100 million in private donations would need to be raised first.
Gov. Doug Burgum has promoted the library as an anchor for North Dakota tourism and a fitting tribute to Roosevelt, who ranched and hunted in the 1880s in the Medora area before becoming president.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.