Reconstructing Hwy 85 will destabilize forest’s delicate balances

Editor’s note: this is an open letter, meant as a public comment, to Mark Malone, project manager at the South Dakota Department of Transportation

Good morning, Mr. Malone,

I just wanted to let you know that I oppose DOT’s current plan to reconstruct Highway 85 from Cheyenne Crossing to the Wyoming line. I’m 82, grew up in Lead, and all my life I’ve returned to that stretch of road, with its pristine, mostly untouched, clear-running stream, its splendid riparian zone and the marvelously varied terrain that stretches all the way from Cheyenne Crossing to the Wyoming line. It’s a rare place of serene and primitive beauty that (ironically!) has a highway running through it. Designed with a modicum of respect for the fragile environment it passes through, the highway, as it is, achieves a delicate symbiosis between the modern and the aboriginal—an odd entanglement that both sides have gotten used to. Straightening and broadening it will unfairly destabilize this delicate balance in favor of faster, but not necessarily safer, passage to more raucous places, like Roughlock Falls and Lead and Deadwood. 

As currently planned, reconstruction will disrupt the basic ecology of a quieter and more subtle dimension of the Black Hills in favor of louder, and yes, let’s say it, more profitable destinations. But, for so many, the true destination, the real beauty of the Black Hills, is in its tranquil interstices, like those found along Highway 85. These places of rejuvenation are dwindling now as human activity advances. Yet, as obscured as they’ve become, when we do find them, they offer the rich and elusive gifts of the geological ages, gifts that speak in whispers and in the figures of their own language. One slows down and grows quiet in order to apprehend them. They are of another order and need unique advocates, since those on the fast and noisy side have already captured more than their share of the Hills. My request to DOT is that it take time to attend to the voices on nature’s side. Consider repairing the highway as it is, make some non-intrusive safety adjustments where needed, but take no more from the natural order than is warranted. Continue to protect and nurture the priceless side of the Highway 85 experience. Do that and you’ll have the profound thanks of a multitude of people who live and work here or come to visit.  

Respectfully,  Harold Storsve 

Harold Storsve is a native of the Black Hills, born and raised in Lead, South Dakota. For over 50 years, he worked as an antipoverty professional throughout the Western United States. Over the years he has also participated in local efforts to protect the natural integrity of the Black Hills, most notably during the Northern Hills heap leach gold mining surge of the 80s and 90s. He currently resides in Interior, South Dakota.

Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons

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