Public Involvement

A vital part of the stewardship plan is input from the public and area stakeholders. By participating in the process, residents, business owners, community organizations and even visitors to these areas can offer ideas and recommendations to assist in establishing a plan and comment on the concepts developed during the planning process. Throughout the master planning process, there will be a variety of ways to participate:

• Focus Group Meetings
  As with any project, there are a number of local residents, businesses and organizations with a vested or unique interest in this project. Focus group meetings will take place for both the Spearfish Canyon State Park and Bismarck Lake areas of the project. These meetings are an opportunity for the master planning team to gather input from people with a specific area of interest.

February 15-17, seven Focus Group Meetings, one focused on Bismarck Lake and 5 focused on Little Spearfish Canyon, were held with the following themes: Custer Area Agencies, Wildlife, History and Conservation, Spearfish-area Agencies, Recreational Interests, Tourism and Chambers of Commerce, and Spearfish Area Business Owners. The seventh meeting was held with Bismarck Lake permittees. 27 people or organizations participated in the seven different meetings out of the 67 people or organizations invited.

• Public Input Meetings
  These meetings will consist of a variety of activities to allow the planning team to effectively gather ideas and comments from the public to help form the future for the project areas.
  
  
  • Thursday, January 26, 2017

    Agenda
    Public Meeting Presentation
    

• Volunteer Advisory Committee
  The Volunteer Advisory Committee (VAC) is a tried and true way of bringing together a group of people with diverse perspectives to discuss the opportunities and vision for the project. Twenty people have been selected for the committee and represent a wide cross-section of groups and individuals.
  
  
  • VAC Meeting Dates

  Thursday, January 26, 2017
  Thursday, March 26, 2017

  • Committee Members:
    

  Scott Zieske, Rapid City
  Terry Mayes, Rapid City
  Jerry Krambeck, Spearfish, Spearfish Canyon Foundation
  Diane Van Patten, Nemo, Local Business Owner
  Eric Davis, Spearfish
  David Johnson, Sioux Falls, Spearfish Canyon Owners Association
  Robert Burns, Black Hawk, The Norbeck Society
  Jim Redlinger, Watertown
  Jerry Apa, Lead
  David Miller, Rapid City
  David Hanna, Rapid City, Black Hills FlyFishers
  Everett Hoyt, Rapid City
  Mike Cronin, Rapid City, Black Hills Climbers Coalition
  Eric Jennings, Spearfish, Black Hills Cattlemen
  Dave Kennedy, Spearfish, Governor’s Snowmobile Advisory Council
  Katie Frieden, Rapid City
  Gina Gibson, Spearfish
  Diana Saathoff, Rapid City
  Randi Sue Smith, Spearfish
  Jim Nelson, Spearfish
  Tribal Representative (Pending)
  

  • Committee Structure and Membership Expectations
    
    
• Other Public Input Opportunities
  We invite those who want to know more about the project and offer their ideas to do so through this website. Project background, maps, concepts and other information presented and discussed at the public meetings will be posted to the website and frequently updated as the master planning process progresses.

The master planning team looks forward to hearing your ideas at the public meetings or reading your comments on the master planning process and the future of the Spearfish Canyon and Bismarck Lake areas on line. Your input will help establish a vision for the project and shape the master plan to provide guidance on the resource management protection and improvement standards for these areas for generations to come.