Deadline to Comment on Mineral Withdrawal for Pactola Area in BHNF

This was the deadline to Comment on Mineral Withdrawal for Pactola Area in BHNF, however the Forest Service gave us a one week extension and the deadline is now the 28th of October.

Prairie Hills Audubon Society supports the proposed mineral withdrawal.

Here is a link to Black Hills Clean Water Alliance web page on this issue: https://bhcleanwateralliance.org/qa-on-proposed-mineral-withdrawal/

Here is a link to Rapid Creek Watershed Actions web page: https://www.rapidcreekwatershed.org/#:~:text=This%20is%20the%20proposed%2020%2C574,Base%20and%20Box%20Elder%2C%20SD.

It has been suggested to us, that getting lots of comments in is very important, so you might spend some time talking others into also sending a simple comment in with support of the withdrawal.  Simple and short comments work fine.

Here is a quote from the Forest Service Announcement:

“The USDA Forest Service (USFS) is now inviting comments on the draft environmental
assessment and finding of no significant impact for the Pactola Reservoir – Rapid Creek
Watershed Withdrawal project, located in Pennington County, South Dakota, within the Mystic
Ranger District of the Black Hills National Forest.

The USFS submitted an application to the Bureau of Land Management requesting the Secretary
of the Interior withdraw approximately 20,574 acres of National Forest System lands
administered by the Black Hills National Forest, from all forms of entry, appropriation, and
disposal under the public land laws; location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and
operation of the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws, subject to valid existing rights, for
a term of 20 years. If the Secretary of the Interior were to approve the withdrawal, National
Forest System lands in the withdrawal application area would be closed to sale or exchange, and
no new mining claims or mineral or geothermal leases would be authorized for the term of the
withdrawal. The withdrawal would not affect disposal of mineral materials. Non-federal lands
and minerals would not be subject to the withdrawal.

The purpose of the requested withdrawal is to protect and preserve cultural and natural resources
of the Pactola Reservoir – Rapid Creek Watershed, including municipal water for Rapid City and
Ellsworth Air Force Base, from the known and potential adverse environmental impacts that may
arise from exploration and development of federally owned minerals.

How to Submit Comments
The draft environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact for the Pactola
Reservoir- Rapid Creek Watershed Withdrawal Project are available at the USFS project
website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/blackhills/?project=63876.

Comments on the draft environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact will be
accepted until October 21, 2024. Electronic comments must be submitted at
https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=63876. Written comments may be submitted by mail
or hand delivered to Shawn Cochran, Forest Supervisor, Black Hills National Forest at 1019 N.
5th Street, Custer, SD 57730. Business hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm,
excluding federal holidays. Comments sent by email will not be accepted.

It is the responsibility of the sender to ensure timely receipt of any comments submitted. All
comments received, including names and addresses of commenters will become part of the
project file and will be available for public inspection. The Responsible Official for this decision
is the Secretary of the Interior. Neither the request for the withdrawal to the Secretary, nor the
decision by the Secretary is subject to the USFS pre-decisional administrative review (objection)
process under 36 CFR Part 218 or the administrative appeal process at 43 CFR Part 4 or 36 CFR
Part 214.”