"A curious kind of deer of a dark grey color, moreso than common, hair long & fine, the ears large & long." - William Clark, describing mule deer

The sacred Black Hills, known as Paha Sapa to the Sioux Nation, were shrouded in mystery to early explorers. West of the Lewis and Clark trail, the range that Lewis and Clark described as the "Black Mountains" are the highest mountains east of the Rockies. Unfortunately, the Black Hills have become the most developed and heavily logged National Forest in the Rocky Mountain region. Only 5 percent of the forest remains undeveloped with only one area, half of 1 percent of the Black Hills National Forest, designated wilderness.

What's at Stake

Approximately 50,000 acres of potential wilderness remain in the Black Hills. The remote portions of these areas are the last sanctuary for old-growth forests - both ponderosa pine and spruce - in South Dakota.

These areas provide the last opportunities to promote nonmotorized recreation such as backpacking and horsepacking on the forest. The Black Elk Wilderness addition and the Beaver Park area are the most pristine of the remaining roadless areas. Both shelter rare plant communities including spruce swamps, which have vegetation more similar to the Arctic than South Dakota.

The Threats

The Forest Service's timber program is the biggest and most imminent threat to these areas. Logging companies are currently pressing hard to get into the old-growth stands located in the Black Elk Wilderness additions and the Beaver Park area. Off-road vehicle use is also a major problem. More than 8,000 miles of roads are located in the Black Hills, including little-used two-track roads in most of the proposed wilderness areas.

The Solutions

The Black Hills Group of the Sierra Club has been fighting the uphill battle to protect the forest for a quarter century. Wilderness protection is the best solution to save the last remaining roadless lands in the Black Hills. The Forest Service has been unwilling to protect them and the timber industry has used claims of beetle infestations and fire hazards - which biologists have refused to back - to pressure the agency to log these very special places.

As an interim step, the Forest Service should recognize all of the Black Hills roadless areas as special areas in need of protection from logging and other intrusions.

In addition, the Black Hills National Forest is ripe for restoration projects including closing roads and allowing native plants to return. 

Photo by Kirk Koepsel

Background | 33 Places to Protect | Rivers, Prairies, Forests What's been Lost, What's Left  | Lewis & Clark Main