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Spruce comment deadline is extended

October 6, 2023 @ 11:30 pm - 11:59 pm

Comment deadline on Spruce project  was extended until Friday, October 06, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. MT. This is because the webpage for the project (including the commenting portal) was not working  for part of Friday, all of Saturday and Sunday and part of Monday, when comments were due on Monday the 25th. This was a  nation wide issue for Forest Service  for some of their web pagess.
Toni Strauss, Deputy Forest Supervisor of the Black Hills National Forest and the Responsible Official for the Spruce Vegetation Management Project (Spruce Project), has decided to offer a four-day, additional period to comment on the draft environmental assessment (EA) for the project due to a temporary outage of the Forest Service’s project website.

 

The Black Hills National Forest is proposing management activities on approximately 3,614 acres in mixed conifer stands. Proposed treatments include approximately 493 acres of overstory removal with reserves, 831 acres of shelterwood, 888 acres of commercial thinning, 720 acres of group selection, and 682 acres of precommercial thinning restoration. Associated road activities being proposed include approximately 41 miles of temporary road construction/closure, 22 miles of road reconstruction, and a couple hundred miles of road maintenance

The Spruce Project draft EA and supporting documents are available on the project webpage: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/blackhills/?project=61599.

You can read comments already submitted here both during scoping and on the draft EA (the project was larger at scoping).: https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/Public//ReadingRoom?Project=61599

PHAS  has submitted comments as has the Norbeck Society.

The following options are available for submitting comments:

  1. Email comments to: matthew.daily@usda.gov
  2. Hardcopy comments can be mailed, or hand delivered (Tuesday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. mountain time, excluding holidays):

Toni Strauss, Deputy Forest Supervisor

Black Hills National Forest

Attn: Matthew Daily (Spruce Project)

1019 N. 5th Street

Custer, SD 57730

(605) 673-9200

  1. Fax comments to (605) 673-9350. Cover page needs to include “Comments for Spruce Project, Attn: Matthew Daily.”

Thank you for taking time to review the proposed Spruce Project and submitting comments. Additional information can be obtained from: Matthew Daily, Natural Resources Staff Officer, (605) 673-9313, matthew.daily@usda.gov.

Details

Date:
October 6, 2023
Time:
11:30 pm - 11:59 pm