We must protect cultural sites and our most vital resource: Water
Over the last month, concerned citizens, environmental groups, and cultural organizations worked together to raise awareness of the proposed mining at the sacred Pe’Sla area west of Rapid City.
After a recent public hearing, which had an overflow crowd, Pete Lien and Sons backed down in the face of public pressure. This action is cause for celebration and a playbook for contesting similar mining projects in western South Dakota.
In Fall River County, a coalition of individuals and some of the same groups who fought the Pe’Sla excavation are trying to prevent the exploitation of Craven Canyon, another culturally significant site with petroglyphs and pictographs reportedly thousands of years old and a sensitive wildlife habitat.
Large companies from out of state and outside the country want to drill to see if there are valuable deposits of uranium. Those who oppose the drilling want to protect the area not just because of the cultural and ecological importance but because the exploration will contaminate the watershed, affecting ranchers, homeowners and the southern Black Hills economy in general.
Facing the worst drought in decades, protecting West River water resources is more vital than ever. The outcry over Pe’Sla and the subsequent success is heartening. Local groups collaborated, organized, and acted. A local company with deep roots in the community promptly responded to residents’ concerns.
To expect large corporations from outside South Dakota to do the same is foolhardy. To expect state officials in Pierre to be responsive to the needs of people in the West is equally foolish.
Safeguarding the water in the semi-arid West is a non-partisan and existential issue that should worry everyone in the region. There are no saviors in this scenario, no white knights to the rescue. To protect our drinking water and the water used for agriculture and recreation, all of us must advocate to convince our elected officials and business leaders that short-term profits do not outweigh long-term preservation.
Besides advocacy, there must be a more thoughtful and measured approach to growth in the region because of the limited amount of water available. Real estate developers and mineral extraction conglomerates cannot be allowed free rein when it comes to use of our water and more.
As we have seen this year, snow and rain are not guaranteed. The groundwater is finite. The drought is a bellwether we must heed.
Coincidentally (or not), there was a recent forum in Rapid City about the feasibility of constructing a pipeline from the Missouri River to Rapid City to alleviate water-shortage anxiety. Without considering the related cultural, environmental, ethical, and legal problems, this idea — roughly estimated at $4 billion — is absurd on its face.
Rapid City has mismanaged the use of its most essential resource and now it would like to do the same with someone else’s: thinking inside the box while inside the box. All stakeholders must be more realistic and creative in solving the impending water crisis.
Bret Swanson of Hermosa is a teacher at Oglala Lakota College. He is running as a Democrat for state representative in District 30.
Photo: Horse Thief Lake in the Black Hills, public domain, wikimedia commons
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