Black Hills residents who live downstream from the Pactola Reservoir want to restrict mining activity in an expanded area.
A U.S. Forest Service review could exempt thousands of acres in the Black Hills from mining.
Carla Marshall who is Mnicoujou and Oglala Lakota, lives in Rapid City. She wants leaders at the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to know one thing.
“As a Lakota woman it is my responsibility to protect the Black Hills. The He Sapa is where we hail from as human beings," Marshall said.
Marshall was one of dozens of tribal and non-tribal members at a recent public hearing.
The Forest Service is considering restrictions on mining activity on about 20,000 acres in and around the Pactola Reservoir.
Marshall said she worries an increase in mining claim activity could lead to larger mining projects.
“For the Black Hills, we are totally under attack," Marshall added. "The Black Hills are totally under attack from mining interests.”
There are about 800 active mining claims in the area. While some people support the 20,000-acre mining exemption, many say it should be bigger.
Justin Herreman, with the Rapid Creek Watershed Action group and Black Hills Paddlers, said the Forest Service should expand the restricted acreage to protect the entire Rapid Creek watershed.
“Ideally, to meet the goals they’ve laid out in their plan to protect the drinking water for Rapid City, Ellsworth Air Force Base, and the surrounding communities, we really need to expand this withdrawal to encompass the entire Rapid Creek watershed, which is about 190,000 acres," Herreman added.
The current plan covers about 10 percent of the watershed. Herreman and others said the forest service should protect the headwaters into Pactola, as well. He said his goal is to permanently restrict all mining activity in the Rapid Creek watershed – which would take Congressional action.
Forest Service officials authorized an initial environmental assessment for F3 Gold’s Jenny Gulch Gold Exploration project. That’s one of the company’s two Black Hills mining exploration projects. Early Forest Service findings showed proposed activity would present no significant impact on the watershed. However, after public opposition to the Jenny Gulch project and additional review, the Forest Service began what’s called a mineral withdrawal process. That process could halt any mining activity for up to 20 years.
Jacqueline Buchanan, deputy regional forester with the U.S. Forest Service in the Rocky Mountain region, said the agency decided to take a second look at the project after hearing public comment on the ruling.
“Because of the concerns around the cultural resources, the concerns around the natural resources, we were already getting a lot of indications from the city of Rapid and Ellsworth Air Force Base and the communities around that potential impact to Pactola Reservoir," Buchanan said.
Buchanan said by following their review process, the Forest Service has stopped activity on the Jenny Gulch Gold Exploration Project.
“If we really do our job in the process, it isn’t a ‘Oh, you’re only going to come to this outcome.’ Sometimes it leads to unexpected outcomes," Buchanan added. "I think a lot of people felt that out of the Jenny Gulch initial review.”
However, some people at the hearing said the agency’s new position to withdraw land from mining conflicts with the Biden Administration’s goal to source more critical minerals domestically.
Larry Mann, with Mann Strategies, has lobbied for mining companies, and now works for F3 Gold. Mann said his comments are his own and emphasized that the permitting process for mineral exploration is very complex.
“The problem, I think, is what people don’t know about exploration. That it is almost as much about finding out where gold isn’t as it is where it is," Mann said.
Mann questioned whether the recent move by the Forest Service to withdraw land from mining activity is legal. He said F3 Gold submitted its plan of operation in 2018. The company then paid for the environmental assessment and, initially, the Forest Service issued a finding of no significant impact.
“And that’s where we were. So, then you go into another comment period. Another objection period. And then another resolution period. Frankly, after 75 days, they’re supposed to issue a final record of decision and publish it in the Federal Register," Mann said. "That’s what the law says they need to do. They failed to do that.”
For now, any mining activity is halted in the 20,000-acre area around Pactola Reservoir while the Forest Service completes its review process. The public has until June 20 to offer comments on the proposal.
Federal officials say their process to determine the future of the Jenny Gulch mining project in the Black Hills will take about two years.
