RAPID CREEK WATERSHED ACTION

The EA is Out!! It’s the moment we’ve been waiting for…

EVERYONE... please submit your comment on the Pactola Reservoir-Rapid Creek Watershed Withdrawal!

The Forest Service is now seeking comments on this Environmental Assessment and we encourage EVERYONE, from anywhere, to submit comments IN-SUPPORT-OF the Pactola Reservoir-Rapid Creek Watershed Withdrawal.

We advise that you start your “official” comment off with “Yes. I support the Pactola Reservoir - Rapid Creek Watershed Withdrawal”
We ALSO are encouraging people to ask for a FULL WATERSHED withdrawal.
We also advise you to ask them to expedited the process to ensure it is delivered to the Secretary of the Department of Interior, Secretary Deb Haaland's desk for signature as soon as possible!

Comment now. Personalize your comment. Let them know that you want to keep the Black Hills beautiful and our water clean.

Public comment ends at 11:59 PM MDT on October 21st.
What is this for? This is the proposed 20,574-acre mineral withdrawal around Pactola Reservoir and along Upper Rapid Creek. This withdrawal would protect the area from mining for a 20 year period. The Pactola Reservoir is the main water supply for 80.9K residents in Rapid City and 13.9K at Ellsworth Air Force Base and Box Elder, SD. This action will also protect natural and cultural resources in the area.

Click here to submit your "I support the Withdrawal" comment to the forest service!

What's this for?

The US Forest Service has issued a draft Environmental Assessment and Draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) in support of the proposed Pactola Reservoir – Rapid Creek Watershed mineral claims withdrawal and now we need to let them know that we support this action.

Comment online at: https://shorturl.at/pI4zr. Don't delay. We need you to submit your comment clearly stating that you support this Withdrawal. Encourage your family and friends to also submit their comments.
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.

We have include the following documents provided by the Forest Service for you to download.

Notice to comment letter announcement
Draft Environmental Assessment and Fonsi (79 pages)

notice-of-availability-and-opportunity-to-comment-letter.pdf
File Size:	823 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

draft_environmental_assessment_and_fonsi.pdf
File Size:	6508 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR "I SUPPORT THE WITHDRAWAL" COMMENT TO THE FOREST SERVICE!

What to help beyond the Pactola Reservoir-Rapid Creek Watershed Withdrawal?
Let’s Make It A Recreation Area to Protect Water, Wildlife, and You!

"Our goal is to have the federally-controlled surface and subsurface lands within the Rapid Creek/Castle Creek watershed upstream from Rapid City designated as a recreation area and subject to a mineral claim withdrawal." - RCWA

The Rapid Creek watershed is located in the central Black Hills and includes significant cultural resources, including Pe’ Sla, a key Lakota cultural site. The watershed is also important because it provides the water for the state’s second-largest municipality, Rapid City, for Ellsworth Air Force Base, and for reservations, smaller communities, and agriculture along the creek as it flows to the Cheyenne and Missouri Rivers.

The Rapid Creek watershed upstream from Rapid City in the Black Hills National Forest is primarily used for recreation. Activities include hunting, fishing, bicycling, motorcycling, snowmobiling, boating, swimming, hiking, bird-watching, camping, equestrian activities, and ATV/UTV riding. Outdoor recreation brought $2.27 billion in direct and indirect income and 48,000 jobs to South Dakota in 2017. Direct spending on hunting alone in the Black Hills is about $89 million.

WHAT YOU CAN DO.

Sign our petition to create the Rapid Creek Watershed Recreational Area Act.

But first, submit your official comment to the Forest Service in support of the
Pactola Reservoir – Rapid Creek Watershed Withdrawal. Deadline is Oct. 21st.

click here to Submit your comment to the Forest Service today!

Review our Econ-Flyer Here

RAPID CREEK
WATERSHED RECREATION
AREA ACT

Jenny GulcH:
GET THE FAQ/answers

The Rapid Creek watershed and its connected groundwater aquifers provides clean water for the state’s second-largest municipality, Rapid City. 

FACTS:

The average water flow in this section of Rapid Creek is 419 gallons per second.
The water that flows from Rapid Creek down into the aquifers is 18% of average total stream flow.
Both Rapid City and Ellsworth AFB get drinking water from Rapid Creek and the aquifers.

What's a "recreation area"?

There are two basic types of recreation areas on land that is controlled by the federal government, including land controlled by the Forest Service. Some recreation areas are designated by the U. S. Congress, as we are working to do for the Rapid Creek watershed, and are permanent (unless the law is revoked). An example of this is the Sheridan Lake recreation area in the central Black Hills (Sheridan Lake is not in the Rapid Creek watershed). This recreation area includes grazing, in addition to recreation opportunities and a business.

The second type of federal recreation area is administrative, rather than done by Congress. It is created by the federal agency that controls the land, and it lasts for 20 years. In most of the central Black Hills, this controlling federal agency is the U.S. Forest Service. The Pactola Reservoir area is an example of an administrative recreation area.

Why Now?

Rapid Creek, called Mniluzahan (“mni” means water; “luzahan” means fast) by the Lakota, was recently designated as one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers because of the criticality of the watershed and the problems that could be associated with gold exploration and mining. Designating the Rapid Creek watershed west of Rapid City — of which Castle Creek is a part — as a recreation area will allow the existing land uses to continue without disruption from hard rock minerals exploration or mining on public lands or claims. Gold mining has consistently resulted in numerous water contamination problems.

Designating the Rapid Creek watershed above Rapid City as a recreation area would also mean withdrawing mining claims that have not been “proven” and protecting the area from threatened large-scale mining. A "mineral withdrawal" means that mining claims would be eliminated. Exploration and mining would not be permitted where the surface or the subsurface of the land is federally-controlled. Central Black Hills communities choose an agriculture-and recreation-based economy.

Download RCWRAA Here

The recreation opportunities of the Rapid Creek watershed provides area residents and visitors with a variety of ways to escape to the beautiful great outdoors.

How Will We Move Forward?

Creating a designated recreation area will require action by the U.S. Congress. We are working to engage everyone in our area to encourage our South Dakota Congressional delegation to submit legislation that would create a Rapid Creek watershed recreation area with mineral withdrawal. Contact them today.

We also need you to:

Talk to your friends about Rapid Creek Watershed Action and the Rapid Creek watershed recreation area project
Sign our petition and encourage your friends and family to visit this website and sign the petition
Donate and encourage your friends and family to donate to this effort
Write opinion pieces for online and newspaper distribution
Talk this up on social media and like, follow, and share our posts: Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram