Black Hills National Forest

US Forest Service
Black Hills National Forest
1019 N. 5th Street
Custer, SD 57730
605-673-9200

Telephone for the
Hearing Impaired
605-673-9227

News Release

USDA Forest Service

Black Hills National Forest

Contact: Katie Van Alstyne (605) 343-1567, or email us at r2 blackhills webinfo@fs.fed.us

PUBLIC INVITED TO COMMENT ON SLATE CASTLE PROJECT

RAPID CITY, SD: NOVEMBER 14, 2008

The Mystic Ranger District invites the public to an informational meeting on December 2, 2008 for the Slate Castle Project. The meeting will be held at the City Hall Conference Room in Hill City from 7 - 9 p.m.

The Forest Service is proposing to improve forest conditions in the Slate Castle project area through commercial timber harvest, thinning, and fuel reduction activities. These treatments are intended to reduce the threat to ecosystem components, including forest resources, from the existing mountain pine beetle epidemic; move toward achieving desired land and resource conditions as provided by the Forest Plan; help protect local communities and resources from catastrophic wildfire by reducing hazardous fuels; and create greater vegetative and structural diversity in the project area.

The project area lies northwest of Hill City and east of Deerfield Lake encompassing approximately 44,426 acres. This area consists of 38,244 acres of National Forest System lands, as well as, 6,182 acres of interspersed private lands. Activities are only being proposed for National Forest System land.

The public meeting will be informational in nature. Forest Service employees will be on hand to answer questions about the project, and large-scale maps will be available for review.

Slate Castle Project documents can be reviewed at http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/blackhills/projects/nepa/public_docs/slate_castle_project/index.shtml

For more information on the Black Hills National Forest, visit our website at www.fs.fed.us/r2/blackhills.

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