93 



with far less frequency due in large part to successful forest man- 

 agement and access. However, these do remain a constant threat. 



To look at wildlife for a minute, I think the report card on wild- 

 life is very positive, and I will review several key species. The 

 Black Hills has a stable goshawk population. In fact, the South 

 Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks even allows collection 

 of goshawk chicks by falconers. Pine martens, which were once ex- 

 tirpated from the Black Hills, have made such a successful come- 

 back in the mature forests of today's Black Hills following their re- 

 introduction was in 1981 and that today a limited trapping season 

 is planned for 1996. 



Elk numbers have increased from 550 in 1980 to 1,200 in 1992. 

 Deer populations increased from 62,000 in 1980 to 85,000 in 1992, 

 but there has been a recent decline that raises concerns about 

 winter range and the effects of a closed canopy forest on forage and 

 browse. Turkey populations have increased from 8,000 in 1980 to 

 15,000 in 1992. Breeding bird surveys near Roubaix Lake in Custer 

 clearly indicates stable populations of Hairy Woodpeckers and Red 

 Breasted Nuthatches, which are both species of interest in forest 

 management debates. 



One of the few exceptions to this wildlife success is ironically the 

 Norbeck Wildlife Preserve. There, many species such as the moun- 

 tain goats, have shrinking populations primarily because of de- 

 creasing forage. 



To talk a minute about range lands, Forest Service monitoring 

 shows that 29 allotments were reanalyzed between 1984 and 1988. 

 Of those, 78 percent either stayed the same or showed a significant 

 increase in the acreage of range in satisfactory condition, and only 

 14 percent of the ranges showed a decrease in satisfactory condi- 

 tions. 



As you review today's testimony, I believe the following consider- 

 ations are essential. People are clearly part of the ecosystem, and 

 we obviously depend on the earth's resources for our survival. And 

 do we in South Dakota really take any moral high ground by re- 

 ducing timber harvest or livestock production or mining in this 

 country only to import those same commodities from other coun- 

 tries, countries which often don't have the skill, technology, or will- 

 ingness to do an environmentally sound a job as we do? I think not. 



I agree with you that the Black Hills National Forest can be a 

 national leader in forest management. The present management of 

 our public lands works and works well. We don't need and we don't 

 want more wilderness designation. Neither do we need or want the 

 proposed conservation biology alternative, which would designate 

 500,000 acres of the Black Hills National Forest in a series of core 

 areas and corridors where roads are closed, no motorized activity is 

 allowed, no livestock is permitted, and private land is purchased 

 for the Federal Government. 



We need a commitment to forest health, to ecosystem manage- 

 ment, and to ecosystem sustainability. But we must remember that 

 people are part of the ecosystem. We must also remember that non- 

 management does not inherently provide for ecosystem sustainabil- 

 ity. 



The frivolous appeals of Forest Service decisions must be 

 stopped. The appeals process is out of control, and despite legisla- 



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