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South Dakota’s wild, wide-open places evoke the spectacular
majesty of the nation’s original west.
 Wild
public lands with names like Red Shirt, Indian Creek, Cheyenne River
and First Black Canyon— windswept tablelands, sheer cliffs,
stark buttes, and waving prairies—are part of what makes our
state unique and special. But less and less of the once vast prairie
remains, given over to cropland and development.
Across the state, citizens are working to designate
these four special places as wilderness, protected from off-road
vehicle abuse, oil and gas drilling,
mining and roadbuilding. The Cheyenne River
Valley Grasslands Heritage Proposal would preserve 71,381 acres
of public land (12 percent of Buffalo
Gap National Grassland, or 8.3 percent of South Dakota’s three
National Grasslands).
Nearly 200 years ago, Lewis and Clark found
golden eagles soaring, bighorn sheep grazing and antelope at play
when they passed through South Dakota’s expansive, untamed
grasslands en route to the Pacific Ocean. Today, we have a chance
to preserve some of this amazing prairie for future generations.
Together, we can ensure that some of this wild
land remains a legacy for future generations, by creating America’s
first National Grasslands wilderness. |
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