State Tourism Director Sara Otte Coleman (left) and Brian Lunde (right) view the potential space for the proposed Bison World project

JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The proposed Bison World theme park will be developed and operated as a non profit corporation organized under North Dakota state law, according to Connie Ova, CEO of the Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corporation (JSDC).

The organization will be incorporated as The Bison World Fund and will request tax exempt status as a 501 (c)(3) corporation subject to IRS approval.

“The Bison World Fund will be formed as a non-profit corporation to exclusively benefit the people of North Dakota and tourists traveling through the state,” Ova said. “It will be a cultural theme park built upon an educational foundation.”

Recent stories have summarized Bison World as an “entertaining and educational” experience that will accomplish a number of goals; from honoring the heritage of the bison and the American West to serving as a “tourism gateway” that promotes all the tourist attractions in the state including the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. The Forum has formally endorsed the project calling it a “visionary proposal.”

Ova stressed the importance of developing Bison World for the public’s benefit and not for the benefit of any private interest or individual. “None of the current donors and supporters want to benefit personally from this project. They only want Bison World to succeed for North Dakota. That says a lot about our community,” Ova said.

Eide Bailly, of the nation’s leading accounting firms, will continue to assist the project with consulting and advising during the process of requesting tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service.