64 



force on the public lands of western South Dakota, much larger 

 than timber and grazing combined. Recreation, fish, and wildlife 

 produce 57 percent of income generated on national forest lands 

 and 62 percent of jobs. This has occurred despite underfunding of 

 recreation and wildlife programs and low priority for noncommo- 

 dity uses on the Black Hills National Forest and Buffalo Gap 

 Grasslands. The recreation sector is growing rapidly while com- 

 modity industries are declining and will continue to decline. 



Regarding the South Dakota Wilderness Act, over 95 percent of 

 the wilderness lands in the United States lay west of the hun- 

 dredth meridian, which roughly bisects the Dakotas. Over 60 per- 

 cent lie in Alaska. Almost all of the remainder lies in the 1 1 west- 

 ern States. In surrounding States such as Colorado, Wyoming, Mon- 

 tana, 4 to 5 percent of total land is in wilderness. The so-called wil- 

 derness counties in these States have experienced the highest 

 growth of all nonurban counties, while commodity-based rural 

 counties stagnate and decline. In South Dakota, we have less than 

 one acre per square mile, one-sixth of 1 percent. And most of that 

 lies in the Sage Creek Wilderness Area in the Badlands. Out of the 

 1.2 million acres of the Black Hills, less than 8,000 are in the single 

 Black Elk Wilderness Area surrounding Harney Peak, representing 

 less than two-thirds of 1 percent of forest lands. In the Buffalo Gap 

 National Grasslands, no acres are in wilderness. 



Situated on the eastern boundary of the west, the areas in south- 

 western South Dakota proposed for wilderness designation are 

 ideally located to take advantage of the flow of vacationers and re- 

 creationists heading west to the attractions of the northern Rockies 

 such as Yellowstone and Glacier. These wilderness designations 

 can be expected to increase tourism interest in South Dakota with 

 its result in positive impacts for recreation-oriented small business- 

 es. Other newer businesses, such as film-making, can also be ex- 

 pected to benefit from the protection of the beauty of these wild 

 lands. After all, no tourism bureau ever rushed to print maps of 

 the newest timber sale areas. 



Additional wilderness will benefit tourism, which is South Dako- 

 ta's growth industry of the future. The South Dakota Wilderness 

 Act would designate an additional 57,100 acres of Black Hills Na- 

 tional Forest lands as wilderness, bringing the total up to around 5 

 percent. In the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, another 74,000 

 acres are proposed for wilderness, including small portions of Bad- 

 lands National Park. Five thousand seven hundred and sixty acre 

 area around Crow Creek is also proposed as a wilderness designat- 

 ed area. 



Again, we thank you, Senator Pressler, for holding this hearing. 



[The prepared statement of Mr. Brademeyer follows:] 



Prepared Statement of Brian Brademayer 



SUMMARY 



The Black Hills Group, Sierra Club, wishes to thank Senator Pressler and the 

 entire Small Business Committee for coming to the Black Hills to hear firsthand 

 how public land decisions are affecting small businesses. We appreciate this oppor- 

 tunity to submit our testimony to the United States Senate, and will focus on the 

 two dominant public land management issues in western South Dakota: the Black 

 Hills Forest Plan Revision and the South Dakota Wilderness Act. These two issues 



