Timber transport pilot project initiated on Black Hills National Forest to bolster timber supply

Release Date: 

Contact(s): Donna Nemeth - Regional Press Officer


LAKEWOOD, Colorado, March 3, 2023 – The forest products industry located adjacent to the Black Hills National Forest will receive surplus fire salvage logs from areas with excess material and limited markets as part of a new innovative timber transport pilot project.

This timber transit pilot project, announced yesterday as part of a 20-year Forest Stewardship Partnership Agreement between the USDA Forest Service and the National Wild Turkey Federation, will move excess timber from the Klamath National Forest in Northern California to a forest products mill in eastern Wyoming, near the South Dakota border. Data from this first project will be essential for the agency in determining the long-term viability of transporting timber in support of the 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy.

“We are glad to be part of this innovative project because we understand that a successful Wildfire Crisis Strategy is dependent on a healthy forest products industry,” said Regional Forester Frank Beum. “This is as mutually beneficial to the Forest Service and industry, as it is to the local communities and natural resources in the entire Black Hills region. We are proud to partner with NWTF and industry in identifying creative solutions for increasing the pace and scale of forest restoration while exploring new markets.” 

The Black Hills National Forest has been working with tribal governments, industry, elected officials, state and federal counterparts, and local communities to chart a course that will ensure sustainable, healthy forests into the future. This project is expected to supplement local timber production and help strengthen and sustain local communities and economies in Wyoming and neighboring South Dakota.  

“Salvage timber that would otherwise increase the potential for more wildfires will be harvested and removed from California,” said Bryan Karchut, acting forest supervisor for the Black Hills National Forest. “The Black Hills forest products industry, one of our key partners in maintaining forest health and resilience, will have a steady supply of timber to continue their mill operation. It is a win-win situation for everyone,” he added.  

“We’re honored to be a partner with the Forest Service and NWTF on this pilot project,” said Jim Neiman, President of Neiman, a family-owned forest management company with operations across the west. “Collectively we’re helping to create resilient forests and stable economies around rural and underserved communities across the nation.”

As part of a 20-year agreement with NWTF, the Forest Service has dedicated $50 million dollars to address some of the most critical ecological challenges that our nation’s forests and grasslands face. Funding for this innovative timber transit project was made available by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

“The National Wild Turkey Federation is both excited and honored to stand with our longstanding partners at the USDA Forest Service to confront the wildfire crisis across the American west,” said Tom Spezze, NWTF’s national director of field conservation and state policy.  “We are also very excited to help lead an effort of stepping back in history to move forward in time by transporting wildfire fuels from oversupplied areas of the west by railcar to forest product mills in underserved parts of the country. The wildfire crisis is a national crisis and NWTF wants to be part of the solution.”