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Chimera Timber Sale Comment Deadline 4/7/23

April 7, 2023 @ 11:30 pm - 11:50 pm

The draft environmental assessment (EA) for the Chimera Fuels Reduction Project (Chimera Project) is available for review and comment. It is located east of Lead/Deadwood, SD and south of Sturgis, SD, encompassing the Boulder Canyon, Galena, and Vanocker Canyon areas.
The draft EA is available for review by visiting the project website at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=61689.
The Forest Service says:

“The project area encompasses a total of 55,159 acres (includes 15,942 acres of private) in the northeastern corner of the Northern Hills Ranger District, east of the communities of Lead and Deadwood, and south and west of the Interstate 90 corridor, which includes the communities of Whitewood, Sturgis, and Tilford. Major geographical features located within the project area include Vanocker Canyon, Deadman Mountain, Dome Mountain, Crook Mountain, Veterans Peak, and Strawberry Ridge.

The purpose of the Chimera project is to increase the resiliency of forest landscapes and communities to wildfire, decrease the impacts of wildfires within the wildland urban interface, and allow for an effective and safe response to wildfires when they occur by implementing vegetation treatments that would reduce ladder fuels, thin dense pine stands, and promote the expansion of hardwood stands and meadows while working toward management area objectives within the project area.”

The project is being prepared under provisions of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (HFRA) and the Western Firesheds Emergency Action Determination (EAD) under Section 40807 of the 2022 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as this area is one of the top ten firesheds in the region as identified in the Chief’s 10 year wildland fire strategy.
Comments on the draft EA will be accepted for 30 days beginning on the first day after the date of publication of a legal notice in the Rapid City Journal, which was published on March 8, 2023, thus the deadline will be postmarked on April 7th, or e-mailed/faxed before midnight on April 7th.

The most efficient method of submitting comments on this draft EA is by visiting the project website (https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=61689) and clicking the “Comment/Object on Project” link. You may also submit comments to the project leader, Chris Stores, by mail, phone, or fax to:

Northern Hills Ranger District
2014 North Main Street
Spearfish, SD 57783
Telephone: (605) 642-4622
Fax: (605) 642-4156
Chris’s e-mail may be Chris.Stores@usda.gov or Christopher.Stores@usda.gov (please verify)
Chimera

https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=61689

 

Details

Date:
April 7, 2023
Time:
11:30 pm - 11:50 pm