Dan's Indian Creek Wilderness Congressional Testimonial

On the 16^th of June, Jill and I were asked by Senator Johnson to travel to Washington DC to testify in front of a Senate hearing concerning the proposed Wilderness bill sponsored by Senator Johnson. The area in question is the view from our deck and while we are in favor of protecting that land by designation it as the first Grasslands Wilderness Area, there are many who are opposed: ranchers (who are distrustful of the federal government), ATV enthusiasts (who want the right to utilize the area), and proponents of a coal train expansion (because they know that raising the conversation value of that land will make it more difficult to run a coal train along side it). I believe the entire hearing is available on CSPAN.

Testimony of Dan O’Brien

South Dakota rancher

Hermosa, South Dakota

Before the

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests

Regarding S. 3310

The Tony Dean Cheyenne River Valley Conservation Act of 2010

June 16, 2010 – Washington, DC

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the Tony Dean Cheyenne River Valley Conservation Act of 2010 (S. 3310).

My name is Dan O’Brien and I live on and run a ranch, adjacent to the proposed wilderness area. In fact, our ranch borders and overlooks a large expanse of the proposed wilderness for a mile and a half. We run both buffalo and cattle and are holders of the largest grazing permit in the northern portion of the proposed wilderness area. My livelihood is dependent upon the grasslands that surround my home, so I have a large stake in the legislation before you today. I strongly support S. 3310 for a number of reasons, which I’ll outline in my testimony.

I bought my first cattle in 1974. I have been a member of the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association since the mid-seventies. I have lived on the Great Plains all of my adult life. I have weathered the winters and the droughts of the region. I have experienced the violent swings in cattle prices and the stresses of severe credit crunches. In recent years I have taken on the challenges of sustainable, value added agriculture in the form of Wild Idea Buffalo Company. Our homegrown South Dakota Corporation encourages sustainable, low input grazing, by establishing a marketing system that ships grass-fed, field harvested buffalo meat to every state in the nation from our office in Rapid City, SD. It is a meat packing and internet company that employs six people and provides buffalo ranchers, white and Native American, access to markets that have always been beyond their grasp. Most recently, my wife and I have begun to experiment with ecological and agricultural tourism as they relate to possible revenue sources for ranchers in a changing world.

While I am a proud member of the community that will be most directly affected by wilderness, I have always had an interest in western South Dakota as it relates – historically, socially, economically, and environmentally – to the rest of the nation and, indeed, to the larger world. I have worked as a biologist for South Dakota Game Fish and Parks Department, as a teacher, and a writer. I have made a forty-year study of the American Great Plains, from Montana to Texas and written a dozen books on the subject. In addition to ranching, I have also worked in construction and driven a truck. But my area of consuming interest and, some would say, expertise, is the Great Plains and specifically the northern Great Plains – which encompasses the proposed Indian Creek Wilderness Area.

I believe that, in addition to the point of view of an in-the-trenches rancher, I bring a unique prospective to the issue of Great Plains wilderness. And it is my considered opinion that no American grassland landscape better fits the spirit of the 1964 law than the area described in the Tony Dean Cheyenne River Valley Conservation Act of 2010.

The proposed Indian Creek Wilderness Area lies on the east side of the Cheyenne River – one of the premier prairie rivers that drain the Black Hills and flows to the Missouri and then on to the Gulf of Mexico. It is unique in its remoteness, history, biodiversity, and proximity to other public lands, including the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation – of the Lakota People, Badlands National Park, Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, and the Black Hills National Forest. Many people think of western South Dakota as a flat land, but those people seldom leave the interstate highway. If they would leave that highway at the little town of Wall, and drive just fifty miles south, then turn west at the even smaller, and aptly name town of Scenic, SD, they would find the proposed wilderness area. If they would leave their car and walk for an hour or two, they would find the geographic relief breathtaking. When I take people back there, on foot or on horseback, they are uniformly awestruck by the beauty and the silence that is woefully lacking in their lives. If you face west on one of the many high spots in the Indian Creek area, and squint into your binoculars, you can see Mount Rushmore. I can’t make out the faces of Washington, Lincoln, or Jefferson, but in that rugged solitude, I can feel Teddy Roosevelt staring down at me. And I know that good Republican president, war hero, and self proclaimed “Dakota Man” would approve of the Tony Dean Cheyenne River Valley Conservation Act of 2010. He was one of the first men of power to recognize that “increasing population, accompanied by expansion of settlement and growing mechanization” were grave threats to the silence and solitude that helps keep us all sane. The Indian Creek Area affords such silence and solitude and deserves maximum federal protection to help keep it that way.

It is unfortunate that the discussion over management of public lands is at times divisive. So divisive, in fact that testifying in front of you today is uncomfortable. Though the majority of South Dakotans are for the wilderness, some are adamant in their opposition. There are unfortunate disagreements, sometimes even between neighbors among whom acrimony is particularly unproductive. Such disagreements can be intimidating in a close- knit community and they tend to tamp down constructive debate. The fact is that nearly all South Dakota shares the desire to keep our land wild, healthy, free, quiet, and grazed. Everyone wants the Indian Creek area managed in this way. The rub comes in deciding who is best qualified to manage these public lands to that end.

I am a believer in the United States of American and in the democratic institutions we have put in place to manage our affairs. The Forest Service, functioning under the Department of Agriculture, is part of that government and I believe that, given the present low-profile of the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, they do a good job. Is it perfect? Of course not. Would I like to see do it done better? Absolutely. I appreciate the language that Senator Johnson has inserted into S. 3310 concerning the management of invasive species, fire, prairie dogs, as well as other issues important to ranchers. I do not believe that the management problems stem from lack of expertise or from complacency of staff. More culpable is Buffalo Gap National Grassland’s low position on the Forest Service’s list of funding priorities. Funding constraints make their job very difficult, and community support and involvement would go much farther in solving management problems than opposition to this legislation. Elevating the visibility of Indian Creek is the best bet for improving its management.

I am a proponent for wilderness designation for four simple reasons: First, I find nothing in the Wilderness Act that would change my way of operating my ranch. Grazing shall continue. The laudable American Horse Culture that I respect and love would continue. In fact, our way of life would be enhanced. It is the law of the land that grazing shall continue and with, due diligence on our part of both Forest Service staff and local ranchers, the protective provisions of the Wilderness Act and the more recent congressional grazing guidelines will create a well managed wilderness we can all be proud of.

Second, I believe that without this additional layer of protection the Indian Creek Area will eventually fall prey to the same abuses and destruction, in the form of unauthorized or additional authorized off-road traffic, that other public land in our area has fallen prey to. ATV’s can easily abuse delicate prairies and are great crushers of silence and solitude. Within a few miles of the proposed wilderness area there are “restricted” public hillsides cut deep by the spinning tires of motorcycle enthusiasts. On the Great Plains such scars may never heal. Indeed, the wagon tracks that cut the Dakotas prairies by Custer’s Cavalry in the 1874’s can still be seen. It is no accident that several motorized recreation organizations oppose this bill, even though the largest two proposed wilderness areas are already closed to motorized recreation.

Third, I hold the wilderness experience to be a privilege that all citizens should be able to access. I see a PRAIRIE wilderness experience to be nearly sacred. Grasslands are the least protected landscape in world. The American grasslands are under siege from powerful world forces. If a prairie wilderness experience is to remain available to the people who own those prairies, a line must be drawn among the yucca plants.

My fourth reason for being in favor of extending wilderness designation to the Indian Creek Area in particular is perhaps self-serving, but let me remind you that I am a business man on several fronts. I’m sixty two years old and, though I love the old ways of making a living in Western South Dakota, I have seen the world change radically in the decades that have passed. I know full well that change is inevitable and I believe that, unless we preempt the changes on the horizon, those old ways will die ignoble deaths. Agriculture on the Great Plains has always been short of cash. Ecological and agricultural tourism are new revenue centers that we people on the land can live with. In fact, they may be of great help in protecting that American Horse Culture that I love so much. Many other countries, and indeed parts of South Dakota are in the midst of this adjustment in the form of outdoor recreation, including hunting. To be blunt, I see a wilderness area in anyone’s backyard as a boon to commerce, an elevator of land values, and excellent medicine for the American spirit.

VERBAL –

Mr. Chairman, it’s an honor to speak to the committee today in support of S. 3310. My name is Dan O’Brien and I live on and operate a ranch adjacent to the Indian Creek area. My wife and I run both cattle and buffalo and hold the largest grazing permit in the Indiana Creek area. My livelihood is dependent upon the grasslands that surround my home, so I have a huge stake in this legislation.

I bought my first cattle in 1974. I have long been a member of the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association and am an avid hunter. I have lived on the Great Plains all of my adult life. I have weathered the winters and the droughts. I have experienced the violent swings in cattle prices and the stresses of severe credit crunches. While I am a proud member of the community that will be most directly affected by wilderness, I have always had an interest in western South Dakota as it relates – historically, socially, economically, and environmentally – to the rest of the nation and, indeed, to the larger world.

In addition to ranching, I have worked as a biologist, a teacher, and a writer. My area of consuming interest is the northern Great Plains and I have researched and written a dozen books on the subject. In addition to my point of view of an in-the-trenches rancher, I bring a unique perspective to the question of Great Plains wilderness. It is my considered opinion that no American grassland better fits the spirit of the Wilderness Act than Indian Creek

Visitors to Indian Creek are uniformly awestruck by the beauty and the silence. From many of the high spots you can see Mount Rushmore. It is too far away to see the faces but  I can feel Teddy Roosevelt staring down at me. I know that good Republican president, war hero, and self proclaimed “Dakota Man” would approve of this bill. He was one of the first men of power to recognize that “increasing population, accompanied by expansion of settlement and growing mechanization” were grave threats to the silence and solitude that helps keep us all sane.

It is unfortunate that the debate over managing public lands has become so divisive that testifying is uncomfortable. Though the majority of South Dakotans are in favor of the Indian Creek Wilderness, some are adamant in their opposition. Acrimonious disagreements between neighbors are particularly unproductive. They can be intimidating in a close- knit community and they tend to tamp down valuable debate. The fact is that nearly all South Dakotas share the desire to keep our land wild, healthy, free, quiet, and grazed. The rub comes in management of our lands.

I am a believer in American and in the democratic government we are participating in today. The Forest Service is part of that government and I believe that, considering the present low profile of the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, they do a good job. Is it perfect? Of course not. Would I like to see it done better? Absolutely. I appreciate the language that Senator Johnson has inserted into S. 3310 concerning the management of invasive species, fire, prairie dogs, as well as other issues important to ranchers.

I believe management problems do not stem from a lack of Forest Service expertise or from complacent staff, but from a low position on the Forest Service’s list of priorities. Community support and involvement would go much farther toward solving management problems than flat-out opposition. Elevating the visibility of Indian Creek is the best bet for improving its management.

I am a proponent of wilderness designation for four simple reasons: First, I find nothing in the Wilderness Act that would change my ranch’s operation. Grazing shall clearly continue under the Wilderness Act and the congressional grazing guidelines. Second, I believe that without this additional layer of protection the Indian Creek Area will eventually fall prey to the abuse and destruction of ever expanding off-road traffic. Third, a prairie wilderness experience is a rare privilege that all citizens should be able to access. Finally, as a rancher and a businessman, I believe that wilderness adds value to South Dakota’s economy through expanded opportunities for tourism, unique hunting experiences, and new forms of income generation for a way of life that has always needed to adapt to prosper.

Thanks for allowing me to testify. I’d be glad to answer any questions that I can.