97 



An open planning process with strong involvement by local governments and 

 the public is essential. The Forest Service is obligated to ask for public com- 

 ments; they must also be willing to listen and to respond. 



Also key to a process that everyone can trust are state-of-the-art resource invento- 

 ries. Better decisions will flow from better data, one of the few points on which 

 there is universal agreement. But I would caution that better data doesn't always 

 result from more data. I would also add that we are supporting the plans of The 

 Nature Conservancy to inventory the Black Hills for rare species and habitats. 



With better data, and more trust in the data, all parties would be able to focus 

 better on the alternative management strategies available and the true trade-offs 

 between those strategies. 



There continue to be parties that advocate replacing commodity industries 

 with tourism or recreation. We cannot allow reductions in our economic diversi- 

 ty; rather than pitting one element of the economy against another, we must 

 focus on making each segment of our economic pie as healthy as possible. 



Clearly management of the forest must be sustainable. We do not manage the 

 forest just for ourselves, but for our children and grandchildren. 



Finally, the Black Hills Multiple Use Coalition has prepared and presented 

 the attached position paper for the revised forest plan (attachment 2). We feel 

 the minimum levels we have outlined are responsible and realistic, and provide 

 an environmental and economic balance within the capabilities of the forest. 

 We have also committed to work with any other group in resolving conflicts 

 over management of our public lands in the Black Hills region. 



In conclusion, I want to thank you for your leadership in holding this hearing. 

 The public lands of South Dakota are vital to all of us. I am reminded of the follow- 

 ing quote from Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac: 



"There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of 

 supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes 

 from the furnace. To avoid the first, one should plant a garden, preferably 

 where there is no grocer to confuse the issue. To avoid the second, he should lay 

 a split of good oak on the andirons, preferably where there is no furnace, and 

 let it warm his shins while a February blizzard tosses the trees outside." 



