The Black Hills National Forest is proposing treatments on National Forest land approximately 13 miles west of Hill City, S.D., through timber harvest, small-tree thinning, mastication, tree planting, watershed improvements and prescribed fire.
The Sawbuck project area consists of 134,210 acres of National Forest System (NFS) lands, in the central Black Hills of South Dakota spanning parts of Pennington, Lawerence, and Custer counties. The western side of the Mystic Ranger District includes Deerfield Lake, Gillette Prairie, Deerfield Road, and Ditch Creek Road, Pe’Sla Tribal Lands, and some of the most remote places on the district.
Proposed forest management includes reducing hazardous fuels using prescribed fire and other fire management techniques, enhancing forest resilience through a combination of commercial (primarily thinning) and non-commercial treatments, and restoring wildlife habitats by removing encroaching conifers. Additionally, the project aims to regenerate native pine stands in the Jasper Fire area through fire applications and strategic planting efforts. Wetland restoration will focus on native plantings and enhancing water quality through constructing features such as log jams and beaver dams.
The proposal includes both commercial and non-commercial thinning of conifer trees. While silviculture reconnaissance is ongoing, vegetation treatments are currently being analyzed for only a portion of the project area, approximately 4,000 acres designated for commercial thinning. Timber stand improvements (TSI) are planned for up to 50,000 acres. This material would be chipped, burned, or otherwise treated to reduce fuel hazards, with thinning efforts aimed at minimizing fire risk and maximizing tree growth.
Watershed improvements are proposed to restore degraded watersheds and increase wildlife habitat. These include removal of pine encroachment, construction of beaver dam analogs, and stream crossing improvements. Prescribed broadcast burning is proposed across the project area to enhance understory species diversity, reduce fuel loads, and prepare the Jasper Fire area for planting. A detailed burn plan will be developed prior to implementation.
Electronic comments are preferred and must be submitted to the Comment Reviewing Officer online at
https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/Public/CommentInput?project=67518. An automated response should confirm your electronic comment has been received. Comments can also be sent via U.S. mail to Mystic Ranger District Office, Attn: Sawbuck Forest Management Project, 8221 S. Mount Rushmore Rd., Rapid City, SD, 57702 or by fax at 605-343-7134.
The Forest Service values public participation. Comments should be submitted within 30 days after publication of the legal notice of opportunity to comment in the Rapid City Journal. The notice is expected to be published on or about January 21, 2025. It is the responsibility of the sender to ensure timely receipt of any comments submitted. Comments submitted, including names and addresses of commenters, are public information. The scoping documents can be found on the Black Hills National Forest website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/projects/blackhills/landmanagement/projects.
For additional information, or if there are questions on this proposed project, please contact Thawney Stottler at the Mystic Ranger District office in Rapid City, SD, at (605) 343-1567, Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., mountain daylight time.
For more information on the Black Hills National Forest, visit www.fs.usda.gov/blackhills, follow Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackhillsnf and/or Twitter: https://twitter.com/BlackHillsNF