Proposal Would Restrict Gold Mining in Black Hills Forest

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — A U.S. Forest Service proposal would ban new gold mining claims at 11 sites in the Black Hills National Forest.

The Rapid City Journal reports that the sites total nearly 17,500 acres, or a total of about 27 square miles.

That's only about 2 percent of the forest's total area. But prospectors contend that the targeted sites contain more than half of the promising mining areas that remain unclaimed in the Black Hills.

Sam Griner with the Black Hills Prospecting Club thinks the proposal is part of a broader effort by the federal government to restrict access to public land.

The Forest Service says the targeted sites are considered special because of their natural features.

The federal Interior secretary is to decide on the proposal by September 2017.

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