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The Black Hills National Forest proposes to reauthorize domestic livestock grazing on six allotments on the Hell Canyon Ranger District in Custer County, SD. The allotments include Bull Flats, French Creek, Lithograph, Lower Beaver, Tepee, and Water Draw. The Hell Canyon Range 2010 Project area is approximately 106,850 acres in size; 105,900 acres are National Forest System (NFS) land and 950 acres are interspersed private land. The project area is located near Custer, SD, and Newcastle, WY; the main east-west access through the project area is US Highway 16 (figure 1). Livestock grazing is an authorized use of NFS lands on the Black Hills National Forest. The purpose of the project is to authorize livestock grazing on these six allotments and to ensure grazing is conducted in an environmentally acceptable manner. The Forest Service rangeland allotment management process calls for periodic reviews of allotment conditions and management practices. All of these allotments are due for environmental review, and if necessary, current rangeland management practices would be revised. The underlying needs for this proposal include: · Improve livestock management so that it is consistent with the Forest Plan. · Improve bank stability and increase riparian vegetation diversity and abundance in specific areas so spring and stream health, wildlife habitat, and riparian ecosystem conditions are moving toward desired conditions. · Improve administration of the French Creek Allotment and minimize conflicts with private landowners, where feasible and practical. In addition to the proposed action, the Forest Service also evaluated the consequences of removing all livestock (Alternative 1 – No Action) and continuing with current management (Alternative 2 – Current Management). This environmental assessment presents results of an analysis of direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental consequences of all alternatives. Based upon the effects of the alternatives, the responsible official will decide whether or not to continue to authorize livestock grazing on none, all, or portions of the six allotments; and if so, what adaptive management actions and monitoring would be included to help meet or move toward meeting Forest Plan objectives.