Comments sought on withdrawal of forest system land near Pactola Reservoir

Public comments are now being sought for a proposal put forth by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to withdraw a portion of the Black Hills National Forest System near Pactola Reservoir in South Dakota.

The proposal would see 20,574 acres of land in the Rapid Creek Watershed in Pennington County withdrawn from consideration for potential sale or mining for up to 20 years, subject to valid existing rights.

According to a press release from USFS, the purpose is to protect cultural and natural resources in the watershed, including drinking water for Rapid City and Ellsworth Air Force Base, from the potential impacts of mineral exploration and development.

The Pactola Reservoir is the largest and deepest reservoir in the Black Hills National Forest and provides high-quality recreation opportunities for communities and visitors.

The withdrawal would remove the land from “settlement, sale, location or entry under the public land laws, location and entry under the United States mining laws, and leasing under the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws”.

A public meeting for anyone interested in the stewardship of these lands and waters is scheduled for April 26 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Best Western Ramkota Hotel, 2111 North Lacrosse Street, Rapid City, SD. USFS and BLM staff will present information about the requested withdrawal and be on-hand to answer questions for the duration of the meeting. Maps and other information will be available for viewing.

Comments will be accepted until June 20, 2023. Comment stations will be available at the public meeting and electronic comments may also be submitted to https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/Public/CommentInput?project=NP-3479.

Written comments may be submitted to Bryan Karchut, Black Hills National Forest, 1019 N. 5th Street, Custer, SD 57730. This comment period will serve as the scoping period for the environmental analysis process.