ICYMI – IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!! Forest Service News Release Newark Project Scoping Comments Submittal Date Extended Custer, SD; March 6, 2023 – Due to public requests, the Hell Canyon Ranger District is extending the date to submit Newark Exploratory Drilling Project scoping comments by 30 days. The Newark Exploratory Drilling Project scoping notice was released on February 8, 2023, inviting the public to provide their input, concerns, and suggestions to the Hell Canyon Ranger District. “We know there is a great deal of public interest in this project, and we want to ensure that there is sufficient time for us to hear from all interested people and organizations,” said Rob Hoelscher, Hell Canyon District Ranger. While the district will consider scoping comments at any time, they will be most helpful if submitted by April 10, 2023. For more information about the project and to submit your comments, please go to the project website at:https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=63527. For more information on the Black Hills National Forest, visit www.fs.usda.gov/blackhills.

Ways to provide your comment include:

• Email at: comments-rocky-mountain-black-hills-hell-canyon@usda.gov with “Newark Exploration Drilling Project” as the subject;
• File your comment online at https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/Public//CommentInput?Project=63527 
• Handwritten comments can be mailed via US Postal Service to: Rob Hoelscher, District Ranger 1019 North 5th Street, Custer, SD 57730
• Comments may also be hand-delivered to the address above;
• Comments submitted, including names and addresses of commenters, are public information.
• READING ROOM – To read other comments submitted online go to: https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/Public//ReadingRoom?Project=63527
• For your convenience, a copy of this scoping letter and the attached map, the accepted Plan of Operations, and other supporting documents can be found on the project website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=63527

Here are some things you can say. Use your own words! Add as much other information as you want:

• Say who you are and why you care about the area.
• Write about any special characteristics of the area that you are aware of. What would we lose if this area is partially cleared, driven over, and drilled – and maybe turned into a gold mine?
• Say that a categorical exclusion is not appropriate for this project. Ask for an “Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).”
• Talk about impacts on French Creek drainage, Custer, Custer State Park, and our tourism and outdoor recreation economy.
• Tell the Forest Service to respect Lakota treaty rights and to do a complete, and meaningful, tribal consultation.
• This project would only be the beginning – the company will want to keep exploring after this proposed project is over.
• All potential future drilling should be described and assessed now, before this project is considered.
• Attach any documents and/or photos to verify potential impacts to wildlife, endangered species, historical sites, etc.
• If you submit by email, you should get a receipt from the Forest Service saying they received it. If you don’t receive confirmation of your submittal, ask them for it.
• If you submit your comment via their online form, watch your email for a receipt and for your comment to appear in the reading room. If you don’t see your comment in the Reading Room, please note the following Disclaimer.

Note – Forest Service’s Reading room Disclaimer: Letters that may contain proprietary or sensitive resource information, or that may be otherwise sensitive, are automatically withheld from displaying in the reading room pending human review. Letters received, but not accessible here, will still be considered and included as part of the record for this project. Most flagged letters are cleared for posting within a few days of being received. Posting may also be delayed for comments not submitted via the web form (e.g., email, mail or fax).

Feel free to reach out to us here if you have any questions.

If you have some photos of these special places that need be be protected and you would like to share those with us please email us at cwablackhills@gmail.com. Thank You.