spectr17
01-31-2002, 02:15 PM
Official says governor will file lawsuit over Black Hills fire dange.
By CHET BROKAW
Associated Press Writer
1/31/02
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- Gov. Bill Janklow has decided to file a lawsuit seeking to make the U.S. Forest Service take actions to reduce the fire danger in the Black Hills National Forest, a state official said.
Janklow recently decided to sue the Forest Service because it has mismanaged the Black Hills to the point that people are endangered by the threat of fire, state Agriculture Secretary Larry Gabriel told a legislative committee Wednesday.
The governor believes a lawsuit would help get quick action to reduce the fire danger in the Black Hills National Forest, which straddles the South Dakota-Wyoming border, Gabriel said.
Despite Gabriel's opposition, the House State Affairs Committee voted 8-5 to pass a bill that would let the state declare a disaster and cut trees in an attempt to reduce the fire danger in the Black Hills.
Gabriel and other opponents said the bill appears to be unconstitutional because the state has no authority over an area under federal jurisdiction.
"What you have here, ladies and gentlemen, is you are going to put up a bluff," Gabriel said.
But lawmakers said the bill should be kept alive to encourage federal officials to take steps to cut the fire danger.
"Do we really want to do nothing and have to come back and face the consequences of a catastrophe?" said Rep. John Teupel, R-Spearfish, the bill's sponsor. "We need to keep the pressure on."
HB1236 asks the Legislature to declare a disaster in the Black Hills because the U.S. Forest Service has not reduced the risk of forest fires. The state and county commissions could designate disaster areas where trees have been killed by mountain pine beetles, the undergrowth has not been thinned sufficiently, or weather has caused damage.
The bill says the state could assume jurisdiction and take actions needed to reduce the fire danger. County commissions could seek to have undergrowth removed or trees cut by loggers after consulting the public and state and federal officials.
Supporters said they do not necessarily envision the state or local governments taking over the federal forest. The disaster declaration could stop environmental groups from interfering when the Forest Service seeks to reduce the fire danger, they said.
Teupel has said the 1983 management plan for the Black Hills National Forest was supposed to last only 15 years, but it is still in use. The Forest Service in the Black Hills started writing a new plan in 1990, but top agency officials held up that plan in 1997.
Local groups reached an agreement that was supposed to lead to implementation of the 1997 management plan by this year, but it now seems that won't be done for two more years, Teupel has said.
Meanwhile, the Forest Service has stopped timber sales that would allow thinning of areas with high fire danger, and the Forest Service has been unable to allow the cutting of trees killed by beetles in an area near Sturgis, Teupel has said.
Nancy Hilding, an environmentalist from Black Hawk, said the bill is unconstitutional because the state has no authority to take action in the federal forest. Many people do not understand the complex issues, and some mistakenly believe the forest can be fireproofed, she said.
Black Hills National Forest Supervisor John Twiss said he opposes the bill but is frustrated by not being able to deal with the fire danger.
The 1.2 million-acre Black Hills National Forest is mostly healthy, but the fire hazard is high in the beetle-infested area near Sturgis and the Norbeck Wildlife Preserve because the Forest Service has been unable to manage the vegetation in the two areas, he said.
Twiss said South Dakota's congressional delegation may introduce legislation that would let the Forest Service bypass lawsuits and go ahead and deal with the fire danger in the two areas.
Top officials in the Forest Service also want to end the "paralysis by analysis" and the delays caused by lawsuits, Twiss said.
By CHET BROKAW
Associated Press Writer
1/31/02
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- Gov. Bill Janklow has decided to file a lawsuit seeking to make the U.S. Forest Service take actions to reduce the fire danger in the Black Hills National Forest, a state official said.
Janklow recently decided to sue the Forest Service because it has mismanaged the Black Hills to the point that people are endangered by the threat of fire, state Agriculture Secretary Larry Gabriel told a legislative committee Wednesday.
The governor believes a lawsuit would help get quick action to reduce the fire danger in the Black Hills National Forest, which straddles the South Dakota-Wyoming border, Gabriel said.
Despite Gabriel's opposition, the House State Affairs Committee voted 8-5 to pass a bill that would let the state declare a disaster and cut trees in an attempt to reduce the fire danger in the Black Hills.
Gabriel and other opponents said the bill appears to be unconstitutional because the state has no authority over an area under federal jurisdiction.
"What you have here, ladies and gentlemen, is you are going to put up a bluff," Gabriel said.
But lawmakers said the bill should be kept alive to encourage federal officials to take steps to cut the fire danger.
"Do we really want to do nothing and have to come back and face the consequences of a catastrophe?" said Rep. John Teupel, R-Spearfish, the bill's sponsor. "We need to keep the pressure on."
HB1236 asks the Legislature to declare a disaster in the Black Hills because the U.S. Forest Service has not reduced the risk of forest fires. The state and county commissions could designate disaster areas where trees have been killed by mountain pine beetles, the undergrowth has not been thinned sufficiently, or weather has caused damage.
The bill says the state could assume jurisdiction and take actions needed to reduce the fire danger. County commissions could seek to have undergrowth removed or trees cut by loggers after consulting the public and state and federal officials.
Supporters said they do not necessarily envision the state or local governments taking over the federal forest. The disaster declaration could stop environmental groups from interfering when the Forest Service seeks to reduce the fire danger, they said.
Teupel has said the 1983 management plan for the Black Hills National Forest was supposed to last only 15 years, but it is still in use. The Forest Service in the Black Hills started writing a new plan in 1990, but top agency officials held up that plan in 1997.
Local groups reached an agreement that was supposed to lead to implementation of the 1997 management plan by this year, but it now seems that won't be done for two more years, Teupel has said.
Meanwhile, the Forest Service has stopped timber sales that would allow thinning of areas with high fire danger, and the Forest Service has been unable to allow the cutting of trees killed by beetles in an area near Sturgis, Teupel has said.
Nancy Hilding, an environmentalist from Black Hawk, said the bill is unconstitutional because the state has no authority to take action in the federal forest. Many people do not understand the complex issues, and some mistakenly believe the forest can be fireproofed, she said.
Black Hills National Forest Supervisor John Twiss said he opposes the bill but is frustrated by not being able to deal with the fire danger.
The 1.2 million-acre Black Hills National Forest is mostly healthy, but the fire hazard is high in the beetle-infested area near Sturgis and the Norbeck Wildlife Preserve because the Forest Service has been unable to manage the vegetation in the two areas, he said.
Twiss said South Dakota's congressional delegation may introduce legislation that would let the Forest Service bypass lawsuits and go ahead and deal with the fire danger in the two areas.
Top officials in the Forest Service also want to end the "paralysis by analysis" and the delays caused by lawsuits, Twiss said.