08/10/2026
The Black Hills National Forest has had more logging, more roads, and no lawsuits. Does that mean there will be no wildfires?
We had some good feedback on our post from yesterday about wildfire critics. It was pointed out that we missed one group and that would be those that blame the current wildfire situation entirely on climate change. We don't agree with that thinking. Climate change is certainly exacerbating the situation, but it is far more complex than just that. Climate change is a long-term problem with long-term fixes. In the meantime, we need to adapt the forests to a changing climate. Common sense thinning can help forests adjust to changing temperatures and precipitation.
So, yesterday we presented what we think is a summary of the critics' issues and why they think they are contributing to our wildfire dilemma. Let's take a look at how those issues apply to the Black Hills National Forest.
One of the critics' issues is that there needs to be dramatically more forest management in order to solve the wildfire issue. Primarily they want to see much more logging. The Black Hills NF should make them quite happy in this regard. For many years, the Forest was in the top three National Forests (and often number 1) in timber volume sold. Even today, it's goal this FY is to offer 120,000 ccf for sale. That's a lot of timber and we would add an unsustainable amount.
Another of the critics' issues is the use of fire to restore fire-adapted ecosystems and mitigate wildfires. Some of these critics don't like this and think it has been misused. Once again, the Black Hills NF should make them happy. It is a full-suppression forest and always has been. There have been small amounts of prescribed burning but nothing significant.
Some critics really think there needs to be more roads added in order to conduct forest management and provide access for fire suppression activities. This would be in addition to the Forest Service's existing road system of 380,000 roads that they cannot adequately maintain. Here again, the Black Hills NF should make them happy. It is one of the most roaded National Forests in the country. Roads are everywhere.
There are not issues with environmental group lawsuits. There has not been a lawsuit here that shut down timber sales since 2001.
For those who advocate that cattle grazing is part of the solution, the Black Hills checks that box. Almost all of the grazing allotments are active.
Some critics believe salvage post fire is key to preventing future wildfire catastrophe. Salvage has taken place on the Black Hills NF but in some cases, the timber industry has turned down opportunities for salvage.
We have an active sawmill industry with demands that exceed supply.
So, here's the big question.....the Black Hills NF is the epitome of what all of these critics are demanding, however, has it solved the problems? We continue to have large fires. The recent Qury Fire in March grew to almost 9,000 acres. We had a large mountain pine beetle epidemic in the last 20 years. We had a pine looper infestation that affected 7,000 acres. We had a windstorm last December that took down a lot of trees, in some areas that had been overthinned and were more susceptible to winds.
So, where do we go from here critics? We don't claim to have all of the answers, but we can claim that we pay attention to what is happening on the BHNF and what works and what doesn't. Maybe we'll do another post on our suggestions.
Attached is a photo from the Fish Fire, which we showed photos of in our previous post. This photo shows how thinning can be effective in mitigating wildfire. Thinning can work but it has its limitations. As we have stressed repeatedly, it is not a cure all and shouldn't be presented as such.
