A natural resource leader told the House Ag and Natural Resources Committee timber struggles are real.
Hunter Roberts is Secretary of the state Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources. He said the current forest plan allows timber sales up to 202,000 ccf, hundred cubic feet.
“Our 2025 harvest was 83,299 ccf, and the target for 2026 is 120,000. So, if you go from harvesting 180-200,000 per year and you cut that available wood supply that much it reduces the amount of timber moving through and then our sawmills need to cut their staff," Roberts said. "So, we’re seeing reduced staff and less timbering happening in the Hills.”
A sustainability task force recommends 140-160,000 ccf annually. He told lawmakers the two largest sawmills in South Dakota reduced shifts and staffing due to limited sawlog availability.
Roberts said the forest timber industry is the “cheapest resource” to manage South Dakota forests.
“If they’re not there to harvest sustainably our forest, nature takes its place," Roberts said.
He pointed to threats like beetles or fire, adding that the state “needs the forest service to step up.”
