Black Hills National Forest, Hell Canyon Ranger District, South Dakota, Vestal Project

The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact statement on a proposal to use multiple vegetation treatments focused on reducing the threat to ecosystem components including forest resources from an existing insect epidemic (mountain pine beetle), creating a landscape condition that reduces the potential for high severity wildfire adjacent to the at-risk community of Custer, SD. The proposal is being planned for the 43,516 acre Vestal Project that includes about 25,726 acres of National Forest System land and about 17,790 acres of interspersed private land. The project area is located surrounding the city of Custer, SD. This project will be conducted as an authorized project under Section 102 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (HFRA). Actions proposed for the Vestal Project would occur on National Forest System lands only.