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Through our desire to control fires in the Black Hills, man has drastically altered the very nature 

 of the Black Hills. Our successful efforts to control fires has allowed the most wealthy western 

 South Dakotan's to build recreational and primary residences within the confines of the Black 

 Hills National Forest. Part of the successful fire prevention program lies in the ability to harvest 

 timber overstocked and decedent stands of timber within the forest. Another part has been the 

 excellent transportation system which was paid for through the sale of saw timber in the forest. 



The forest health situation is complicated by the presence of the mountain pine beetle which grow 

 to epidemic proportions every seven years on average. The Black Hills National Forest has done 

 an excellent job of controlling these pests through the timely application of timber salvage sales. 

 At the very least, additional wilderness would make this job more difficult. 



Although you can expect the preservationists to say they do not oppose harvesting insect 

 infestations, the additional land set-asides make it very unlikely that such treatment will be 

 carried out. Quite simply, the health of the Black Hills National Forest, the millions of additional 

 board feet of timber which is now produced, the hundreds, even thousands of additional deer, elk, 

 and turkeys which inhabit the Black Hills would not exist if aggressive timber management had 

 not been practiced on this forest. 



More wilderness would simply set-aside more acres that would make fire fighting more difficult 

 due to lack of road access. If the mountain pine beetle continue their cyclical attacks on the 

 Black Hills, the new wildreness areas will serve as isolated infection courts, and could result in 

 large portions of the forest being killed or damaged by the insects. 



Current public use of the existing wilderness areas is very low as compared to the general 

 dispersed recreational use of the forest. In the Norbeck, the functional equivalent of a wilderness, 

 the only use which occurs is on two trails which lead into the Harney Peak Area. Why if use 

 is so limited and the wilderness attributes being so low, would the preservationists want 

 additional \\ildemess? We suspect it is because they do not want logging, mining or tourism to 

 survive in the Black Hills. 



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