Appendix C Pactola Project Area Past and Present Activities 

APPENDIX C 

PAST AND PRESENT 

AND 

FORESEEABLE ACTIVITIES

Appendix C Pactola Project Area Past and Present Activities C - 3 

APPENDIX C – PAST, PRESENT, AND FORESEEABLE ACTIVITIES IN THE 

PACTOLA PROJECT AREA 

Much of the activity that has occurred within the project area has been timber sales and related 

activities, which include: 

Table 1. Past Timber Sales 

Sale Award Acres ** Silviculture System 

Banner 1990 2,949 Shelterwood 

Board 1991 204 Shelterwood 

Bullock 2003 1,281 Shelterwood 

Custer Gulch 1970 317 Shelterwood 

Dam 1987 25 Shelterwood 

Deer 1991 319 Shelterwood 

Edelweiss 1984 49 Shelterwood 

Empress 1977 260 Sanitation/Salvage 

Jenny 1990 1,605 Shelterwood 

Mystic 1988 97 Shelterwood 

Northwest 1979 542 Shelterwood 

Pactola 1988 1,321 Shelterwood 

Pactola Dam 1982 26 Shelterwood 

Placer * 2007 7 Shelterwood 

Snugget 1985 2,228 Shelterwood 

Tamarack 1992 21 Shelterwood 

TOTAL 11,251 

 * Active Sales 

 ** Approximate treated acres within Pactola Project Area 

Table 2. Approximate Acres for Past Activities: (Activities recorded since 1982) 

Activity Description Units 

Natural Fuels - Burn Piles 512 Ac 

Natural Fuels - Prescribed Burning 2,550 Ac 

 

Wildlife - Habitat Planting 60 Ac 

Wildlife - Planting Shrubs 54 Ac 

Wildlife - Prescribed Burn 2,223 Ac 

Wildlife - Release Cutting 46 Ac 

Wildlife - Harvest Trees 283 Ac 

Regenerate Aspen 69 Ac 

Wildlife - Tree Encroachment Control 100 Ac 

 

Range Seeding 61 Ac 

Noxious Weed Treatment 1,505 Ac 
Appendix C Pactola Project Area Past and Present Activities C - 4 

Activity Description Units 

Tree Encroachment Control 64 Ac 

Watershed Improvement 1,900 Ac 

 

Shelterwood Establishment Cut 318 Ac 

Shelterwood Removal Cut 210 Ac 

Final Removal Cut 6,832 Ac 

Individual Tree Selection 9 Ac 

Commercial Thinning 3,838 Ac 

Special Harvest 36 Ac 

Sanitation/Salvage 0 Ac 

SUBTOTAL of Harvest Activity 11,251 Ac 

 

Regen Surveys 1,794 Ac 

Natural Regen Certification 7,308 Ac 

TSI - Precommercial Thin 8,409 Ac 

Silviculture Stand Exam (multiple surveys) 81,938 Ac 

Post Treatment Exam 16,469 Ac 

 

Sensitive Species Surveys 270 Ac 

TE&S Plant Surveys 770 Ac 

Present / Foreseeable Actions 

The project area contains overhead and underground distribution and transmission power utility 

lines under special use permits to Black Hills Electric Cooperative, Quest, and Golden West 

Telephone. Maintenance is ongoing for these facilities. 

Firewood gathering and Christmas tree cutting by permit will continue to occur within the area. 

Road / Utility right-of-way clearing – Road construction and maintenance and right-of-way 

brushing can be expected to continue on non-National Forest System lands. 

Subdivision development - Given current trends, it is likely that additional private lands may be 

subdivided and new residences constructed. Special use permits such as utility, water line, 

rights-of-way, and access/easements may be requested. 

Private landowners may harvest timber on their own lands to reduce Mountain Pine Beetle and 

fire hazard and for lumber. 

Range developments and livestock grazing - Includes fencing, dugouts, wells, spring 

developments, etc. Cattle grazing would continue. 

Wildfires - The frequency, size and intensity of possible wildfires depend upon various factors, 

including weather, ignition means, and fuels loadings. 
Appendix C Pactola Project Area Past and Present Activities C - 5 

Mining activity – Currently, there are six active locatable minerals mining claims within the 

project area. It is likely that there would be some additional mining claims reviewed within the 

project area, as well as mine shaft closures due to safety and/or bat/wildlife concerns. 

Recreation – Recreation activities will continue to increase on the Forest. Bear Gulch and Vets 

Point developed recreation sites will receive new all concrete vault toilet facilities. Bear Gulch is 

also receiving a new hand pump. The Pactola Visitor Center will soon implement a project to 

upgrade water utilities and restroom facilities. Jenny Gulch developed recreation site will be 

downgraded. This includes the removal of restroom facilities, bulletin boards, etc. Also, general 

maintenance would continue to occur for all other developed recreation sites within the project area. 

Treatments to reduce or eliminate noxious weeds and invasive species would continue on NFS 

and private property. 

In 2005, the Forest Service published a new rule for providing OHV access to national forests and 

grasslands. The rule itself does not designate roads or areas for OHV’s, but provides a framework for 

making those decisions at the local level. The Black Hills National Forest issued a FEIS/ROD (May 7, 

2010) designating routes for motorized use forest-wide. Implementation began on December 1, 2010 

with the Motorized Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) for the Black Hills National Forest. 

Black Hills Power (BHP) plans to construct a Teckla-Osage-Lange 230 Kv Transmission line from 

approximately Teckla Substation in Wyoming to Osage Substation in Wyoming to the Lange 

Substation in South Dakota (NW of Rapid City). 

Within the Pactola developed campground, some trees may be sprayed to protect trees against 

mountain pine beetle.