A federal judge last week dismissed a lawsuit by South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem seeking to reverse a Biden administration decision to cancel a fireworks display at Mt. Rushmore over Fourth of July weekend.
Noem said Monday that the state will challenge the ruling, stressing the importance of the display to boost tourism in South Dakota. Tourism dropped last year during COVID-19 pandemic and last year’s fireworks display approved by the Trump administration was the first held at Mt. Rushmore since 2009 due to environmental concerns.
Noem has come under fire from both sides of the legislative aisle for using state funds in her fight to hold the display again this year, saying “Even President Biden told us that by July Fourth we can be celebrating our independence from the virus. Seems like the perfect party to have.”
U.S. District Court of South Dakota Judge Roberto Lange, who was appointed by President Obama, wrote in a 36-page opinion that he empathized with the governor, the decision to reject a special-use permit ultimately rested with officials at the Dept. of Interior, which earlier this year informed state officials it was denying the state’s permit for a number of reasons, including concerns over public health, the environment, and opposition from “tribal partners.”
Lange said a fireworks display at Mount Rushmore on July 3 seems like a good way to celebrate the Independence Day weekend after the difficult past year; however, the federal court cannot “mandate issuance” of a permit requiring a fireworks display. He noted the National Park Service provided nearly a half dozen reasons for withholding this year’s fireworks in the Black Hills and prioritized “long-term interests” over “short-term interests,” while Noem’s attorney’s arguments on congressional discretion had virtually no support in existing law.
Lange also addressed the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe’s involvement in the lawsuit and cited the potential detrimental effects of such a pyrotechnic show to culturally important land.
“The Lakota sentiment toward the carvings runs the gamut from inspiring feelings of patriotic pride to a sense of desecration of their sacred land and the mountain they call Six Grandfathers,” Lange wrote, noting that archaeological surveys in the past have uncovered prehistoric cultural sites within the boundaries of the memorial. “The Cheyenne River Sioux and Lakota tribes, as well as those looking out for the long-term interests of the memorial, provided good reason to oppose the fireworks display this summer,” he said.