Supreme Court rejects sanctuary's easement request

The South Dakota Supreme Court has rejected an attempt by a wild horse sanctuary to get rid of a conservation easement that limits use of thousands of acres.

The operators of the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary near Hot Springs filed a lawsuit in 2016 alleging it was fraudulently induced into granting the easement to The Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit with an office in Rapid City, in exchange for $230,000.

The Rapid City Journal says the easement includes about 8,300 acres of sanctuary land and prohibits certain uses to ensure it will remain in a mostly natural and undeveloped state.

The Supreme Court's opinion issued Wednesday affirms a circuit court decision to dismiss the lawsuit.

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