Neither audience nor legislators back proposed Spearfish state park
The proposed Spearfish Canyon State Park may never come to be.
A raucous crowd of roughly 400 people gathered at the Spearfish Park Pavilion on Thursday evening, nearly all of them to voice their opposition to a land exchange that would transfer Spearfish Canyon from federal to state stewardship.
It may have been the most vocal opposition yet to a campaign by West River residents against both the exchange and the creation of the proposed Spearfish Canyon State Park. And in Pierre, it seems to be paying off. At the one-third mark of the 2017 legislative session, Republican leaders in both the House and Senate mentioned Thursday that the bill that was filed to move the land swap forward has little support.
Hosted by South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks, the meeting in Spearfish was the first of several public comment sessions on the proposal. Dozens of people waved printed brochures with the word “no” printed on them, all to send a message to Gov. Dennis Daugaard and the Legislature: Entrance fee or not, many people are still opposed to the park.
Read more: http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/neither-audience-nor-legislators-back-proposed-spearfish-state-park/article_3d1ad0f3-951b-56f8-8480-72537da20b4e.html