Wilderness Always
June 24, 2009
A friend showed me this beautifully wild idea today that I hope you’ll support (thanks Chas). It’s a plan to designate three areas of the Buffalo Gap National Grassland as the nation’s first Grassland Wilderness. According to the site, here’s what you can do in a Wilderness:
Allowed in Wilderness Areas
- Hunting and fishing
- Hiking, backpacking, camping
- Horseback riding
- Birdwatching
- Rock collecting for personal use
- Livestock grazing and access, where already established
- Mining on pre-existing patented claims
- Rafting, canoeing, and kayaking
- Outfitting and guiding
- Wheelchairs (including certain motorized wheelchairs)
- Control of wildfires, insects, and disease outbreaks
- Access to private inholdings
Prohibited in Wilderness Areas
- Road building
- Logging
- Oil and gas drilling
- New mining claims
- New reservoirs, power lines and pipelines
- Motorized or mechanized vehicles like ATVs and mountain bikes
So, if you’re a South Dakotan, or if you’d like to visit the grasslands of South Dakota, please visit http://www.sdwildgrassland.org to learn about the plan, and then click on Get Involved for info on contacting our congress men and woman to show your support.
Sounds like a great spot for my next wilderness solo… 
