The Black Hills National Forest decided on February 27, 2026 that a company should be allowed to drill for graphite without complete environmental review at Pe’sla. Pe’sla provides drinking water to Rapid City and is a sacred landscape at the heart of the Black Hills.

Pete Lien & Sons’ proposed Rochford Mineral Exploratory Drilling Project and any resulting mining risk contaminating our drinking water. Located in an essential supply zone within the Rapid Creek Watershed, the project endangers the water supply for Rapid City, Ellsworth Air Force Base, nearby communities, and reservation and ranch lands along the Cheyenne River. Graphite activity can contaminate water sources with sediments, heavy metals, and chemicals.

Pe’sla is also a place of ceremony — and has been for thousands of years. Pete Lien and Sons’ graphite project violates the constitutional treaty rights and religious freedoms of Indigenous peoples. This area is widely recognized for its religious and cultural importance, and some of the area has already been placed in trust to safeguard it from damaging mining activities, such as those proposed by Pete Lien & Sons.

Immediate Call to Action: Contact the US Forest Service’s Mystic District at (605) 343-1567 and request the reversal of the Pe’sla drilling decision. Say that you oppose letting the exploratory drilling project go forward without a complete environmental study.