The USDA Forest Service has submitted an application to the USDI Bureau of Land Management requesting 20,574 acres of National Forest System lands in the Pactola Reservoir – Rapid Creek Watershed in Pennington County, South Dakota be withdrawn from settlement, sale, location or entry under the public land laws, location and entry under the United States mining laws, and leasing under the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws, subject to valid existing rights, for up to 20 years.
The public is encouraged to comment on the requested withdrawal. Comments will be accepted for 90 days following the publication of the Notice of Intent in the Federal Register. The Notice of Intent was published on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, and the comment period closes on June 20, 2023.
The 90-day public comment period is required by the withdrawal regulations at 43 CFR 2310.3-l(b)(2). This comment period also serves as the scoping comment period for the environmental analysis process.
Public comments may be viewed in the Public Reading Room at https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/Public/ReadingRoom?project=NP-3479
Elysia Retzlaff
