Western South Dakota News

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, along with Senators Mike Rounds, John Barrasso, Cynthia Lummis, and Representatives Dusty Johnson and Harriet Hageman, have addressed a letter to Brooke Rollins, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The letter urges immediate action to boost timber sale program targets for the Black Hills National Forest (BHNF) to prevent further sawmill closures and mitigate negative economic impacts on communities in the Black Hills.

The senators highlighted concerns that during the Biden administration, "the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) authorized only a fraction of the BHNF’s allowable timber sale quantity in an effort to further its unreasonable climate policies." They noted that this has resulted in sawmill facilities operating at reduced capacities or transporting materials from distant states, leading to significant financial losses.

"Sawmill facilities are running at reduced capacities or shipping material long distances from other states," they stated. "Multiple sawmills across the Black Hills have already closed or drastically reduced operations."

The correspondence points out that these closures not only affect local workers and communities but also reduce capacity needed for forest management and addressing pine beetle populations and wildfire risks.

In their communication with Secretary Rollins, who was recently confirmed to lead the Department of Agriculture, they expressed appreciation for her commitment to work with the forest products industry on this issue. The letter emphasized the historical success of BHNF's forest management practices since 1899 and called for quick action by USFS to increase timber sale program targets.

The senators concluded by expressing their readiness to collaborate with Secretary Rollins in resolving this pressing issue.