Indian Creek hike
When it comes to giving back to his community, Chuck Mickel has just about done it all. The retired lawyer has worked to protect tenants’ rights and Native Americans’ water rights, served in the military, served in the South Dakota House of Representatives, was appointed to the State Board of Minerals, and much more. When Chuck was called to schedule this interview, he was working on one of the thirty or so homes he has helped to build over the past four years with Habitat for Humanity — South Dakota. And, his volunteering with Habitat for Humanity was a result of working on the construction crew of a home building project sponsored by three Episcopal churches in Rapid City. Giving back to his community seems to run through his veins, and when asked about all his involvement Chuck humbly replies, “I always try to give something back to the community that has been good to me.”
Chuck grew up adjacent to the Rosebud Indian Reservation in a town of six hundred in the south central part of the state, where his father owned a grocery store for 45 years. Chuck now lives in Rapid City in western South Dakota with the Black Hills immediately to the west, Badlands National Park to the east and Buffalo Gap National Grassland to the south — which is home to some of the nation’s few remaining wild grasslands. So, amidst his myriad activities, Chuck also works hard to make sure some of these wild grasslands remain wild. He is helping to ensure a legacy for future generations by volunteering with the South Dakota Wild Grassland Coalition [1], whose goal is to create America’s first national grassland wilderness. “Chuck is one of those extraordinary folks who didn't have to be courted or coaxed to help,” says Cheryl Warren with the South Dakota Wild Grassland Coalition. “With characteristic initiative, he asked for information on wilderness, studied it, and decided he wanted to get involved. The experience, ideas, contacts and determined perseverance Chuck contributes have been invaluable to our campaign.”
The South Dakota Wild Grassland Coalition is comprised of sportsmen, ranchers, conservationists, Native American tribes, and local business owners who would like to see a small piece of South Dakota’s prairie grasslands preserved in its wild state for generations to come. These wild public lands bear names like Red Shirt, Indian Creek, and Chalk Hills — with landscapes of windswept tablelands, sheer cliffs, stark buttes, and rolling, grass-covered prairies. The lands are part of what makes South Dakota unique and special. But less and less of the once vast prairie remains, given over to cropland and development. Prairie grasslands are the fastest dwindling and least protected ecosystem on the continent. This is the same landscape where nearly 200 years ago Lewis and Clark found golden eagles soaring, bighorn sheep grazing and antelope at play, when they passed through South Dakota en route to the Pacific Ocean. Chuck knows that today, he has a chance to preserve some of this amazing prairie for future generations.
These are lands that Chuck has hiked in all his life — he’s been hiking in the Badlands frequently for years. When approached by members of the South Dakota Wild Grassland Coalition to travel to Washington, DC to meet with South Dakota’s congressional delegation and talk to them about the importance of protecting the landscape that has shaped the strength and character of South Dakotans, he gladly agreed. Now he is working in his community to generate more support for grassland wilderness. One of his recent efforts was to work with the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council (representing 30,000 members, South Dakota’s largest tribe) to consider a resolution supporting protection for grasslands wilderness located adjacent to their reservation. It passed unanimously.
“It’s obvious what we’re doing here — we’re trying to preserve something for future generations,” Chuck explains about his efforts to protect South Dakota’s wild grasslands. “If you want to take your kids and grandkids to see lands shaped by wind, water and air — that’s what you’ll see here. If we don’t preserve it, it won’t be there.”
Chuck feels very strongly about protecting land for public use and preserving a piece of America’s heritage. His hope is that more South Dakotans who love their wild grasslands will get involved in the effort to save them. One thing is clear: as a result of Chuck’s work — and other volunteers like him — South Dakota is an important step closer to seeing the first national grasslands wilderness.