Tribal activists, environmentalists move to block Black Hills graphite exploration project

Groups file lawsuit over Forest Service decision to allow exploration near sacred Native American site

Opponents of a mineral exploration project in the Black Hills have filed suit against the U.S. Forest Service to block it from going forward.

NDN Collective, a Native American rights group, was joined in the lawsuit by Black Hills Clean Water Alliance and Earthworks. The groups object to the project, known as the Rochford Mineral Exploratory Drilling Project, arguing it will take place near a high-altitude meadow sacred to Native Americans – they call it Pe’ Sla – and that it could threaten drinking water in the Black Hills.

“The Pe’ Sla area, including both the prairie and the more forested lands nearby, are ecologically unique and include important surface water resources,” the lawsuit says.