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The health of the Black Hills National Forest for the next several decades could be determined by the decisions of the next few years.
The U.S. Forest Service says it will spend those few years writing a new forest plan, which will require a difficult balancing act with logging.
It’s not the first time the Black Hills has faced a crossroads over logging. Terri Jain, a research forester for the Forest Service, referenced some of that history during a recent virtual presentation.
“The Black Hills has had a long history of timber harvests, which has contributed to the resilience of this forest,” Jain said.
U.S. Forest Service: Black Hills forest at risk of being over-logged without drastic turnaround
The Rocky Mountain Research Station scientists behind an influential general technical report spoke on Wednesday by webinar about their findings, including the double-whammy wrought by pine beetle infestation and forest fires on the Black Hills. Written By: Christopher Vondracek | ×
While only 4% of South Dakota is forested, the Ponderosa Pine-spotted Black Hills have been a major timber producer for the National Forest System over the last two decades. (Christopher Vondracek / Forum News Service)
PIERRE, S.D. The Black Hills forest could be cut clean of suitable sawtimber in 60 years, if logging keeps at its current pace and the forest s mortality rate remains low, report the researchers behind an influential U.S. Forest Service study.
In Grizzly Country, COVID Brings Massive Recreation Increase, Surprisingly Fewer Conflicts
Wildlife managers across the region noted a drastic increase in the number of people recreating in bear country this year, but that spike didn’t lead to a bump in conflicts between humans and grizzlies.
That s the takeaway from a year-end review of grizzly management in the Lower 48 states this week.
Public land managers, wildlife biologists, and other specialists from states and the federal government on the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee identified the influx of visitors mostly people from out of state, and those with little “bear awareness” as the “COVID effect.”