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STURGIS, S.D. -
Opponents of development around Bear Butte are gathering signatures
in hopes of forcing a public vote on a beer license for a new
campground being built near the mountain.
The Meade County
Commission granted Jay Allen a beer license earlier this month for
his Sturgis County Line entertainment complex and campground. The
campground bar would be about 2 1/2 miles from the base of Bear
Butte, just a few miles northeast of Sturgis.
Opponents, led by
the Bear Butte International Alliance, are trying to find support for
their petition campaign.
Meade County
Auditor Lisa Schieffer said Wednesday the decision on whether the
commission's decision can be referred to a public vote probably won't
be made until the petitions are turned in.
Bear Butte, an
ancient volcano that never erupted, is considered sacred by American
Indian tribes. Indians have gone there for religious and spiritual
ceremonies. The 4,422-foot peak on the fringe of the Black Hills is
within a state park and is protected as a National Historic Landmark.
State officials
have said at least 17 tribes place special significance on Bear
Butte. Others have said nearly 60 tribes consider the peak sacred.
Bear Butte has been a state park since 1961, and a special area is
set aside for Indian ceremonies.
Allen first
announced development of the project on a square mile of prairie near
Bear Butte last summer, proposing to call it Sacred Ground. He talked
about building an 80-foot Indian statue as a tribute to tribes, but
abandoned that plan and changed the name of the project to Sturgis
County Line after opposition from Indians.
Allen has said he
has a right to develop his land, which totals about 600 acres.
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