• My family and I try our best to see the Great Faces nearly every summer.  It's one of our favorite summer vacation spots - and one many South Dakotans try not to miss.  If you have visited the Black Hills in the last few years, however, you've probably noticed a changing landscape; sadly, a dying landscape.
• Over the course of the last two decades, Mountain Pine Beetles have quickly infested the Black Hills National Forest.  About one-third of the forest is currently infected, turning some areas into a tinderbox and significantly increasing wildfire potential in the area.  Not only is this a significant safety risk, but it jeopardizes our state's tourism and forestry industries - and the paychecks of the hundreds of South Dakotans employed in these industries.

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