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outstanding scenic quaKties and the desire of many people to hike to the top of the highest 

 peak east of the Rockies command the heavy visitation. The remainder of the area does 

 not show enough use to interfere with the 'soUtude' demanded by the small percentage of 

 people who leave those trails. Expansion of tiie Wilderness system here cannot, therefore, 

 be justified even by human needs, and is in fact exclusionary for most people, since it can 

 only be entered on foot or on horseback. 



As in other areas of the West, the federal government owns a large portion of land here, 

 which means that much of our local tax base is supported by the extraction of products 

 fi-om our National Forests. Whenever land is withdrawn fi-om production, the burden of 

 lost tax revenues and the concurrent loss in jobs is devastating to the very local economies 

 which the Forest Service a century ago pledged to support and stabilize if citizens would 

 stop opposing the creation of National Forests. 



I ask that members of this committee put tfie needs of individuals, small businesses, and 

 our forest environment ahead of those who would have us padlock federal lands so that the 

 wealthy and healthy can hike in solitude. When Wilderness lands bum or its trees die fi-om 

 infestation, these people will go elsewhere for their recreation. Those of us who have 

 made the Black Hills our home will be left with the aftermath. 



3. Black Hill! } National Forest Plan Revision 



The Black Hills National Forest Service is now facing the monumental task of revising the 

 Forest Plan, a document which affects abnost every person in the area as well as the Forest 

 itself. Many of us— loggers, ranchers, miners, and tourist businesses- depend upon the 

 Forest and its products or opportunities for our livelihoods. Others use the Forest for its 

 recreational opportunities, including hunting, fishing, boating, motorized recreation, hiking, 

 and camping. The National Forest has provided stability to our communities and a 



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