Norbeck Society

06/17/2026

𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟎, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐇𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 (𝐁𝐇𝐍𝐅) 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐬, 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞. 𝐀𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐇𝐍𝐅.

• The Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) program is a congressionally mandated initiative that collects data from over 355,000 permanent plots across the U.S., including territories like Guam and the Caribbean. It integrates field measurements with remote sensing to provide annualized estimates of forest conditions, trends, and land-use changes. 𝐅𝐈𝐀 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤, 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠.

• Using FIA data covering the Black Hills and including 3 years of additional plots, forest research scientists wrote a peer-reviewed report on the status of the forest. This report was published in 2020: https://www.fs.usda.gov/rm/pubs_series/rmrs/gtr/rmrs_gtr422.pdf

• 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 (𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟗) 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐰𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝟏𝟓𝟑,𝟓𝟑𝟒 𝐂𝐂𝐅 𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 (𝐂𝐂𝐅 = 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝐜𝐮𝐛𝐢𝐜 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐭) 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝, 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐰𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬.

• To meet the current Allowable Sale Quantity (ASQ) of 181,000 CCF as described in the Black Hills National Forest Plan, a standing live sawtimber volume of approximately 12 million CCF would be required. However, current (2019) standing live sawtimber volume is about 5.9 million CCF. The current standing volume is at 50% of what is needed to maintain those harvest levels. And that doesn’t consider what are called “restrictions” – areas not considered suitable for logging because of various other values like natural, cultural and topographic considerations. 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟗, 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐰𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭.

• ASQ is not a guaranteed annual harvest, but rather a cap within which annual harvests can vary. ASQ is an estimate based on desired and existing conditions, acreage suitable for timber, and ecological assumptions (e.g., non-declining growth flow).

06/17/2026

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐕𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭!
The deadline is June 21st

The Black Hills National Forest states the purpose of the Benchmark project is to provide commercial timber to local industry, reduce hazardous fuels, and reduce the risk of insect infestation.

This project will authorize vegetation treatments on 38,003 acres of our National Forest, interspersed with 10,513 acres of private land.

• 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬?
Trees will be sold, typically via bids to get the best price, but sometimes sold without competition. Commercial treatment involves use of large equipment and the construction of numerous skid trails and temporary roads to remove the trees.

• 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐇𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭 (𝐍𝐇𝐑𝐃) 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝟒𝟖,𝟔𝟑𝟑 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 “𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥” 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚, 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝟐𝟒 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬. That means many of these acres have been logged more than once in the recent past. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥/𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰?

• 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝟏𝟕,𝟏𝟗𝟔 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐥, 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤, 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰 𝐞𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 “𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥” 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳-𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴.

• 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐫-𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 “𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞” 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘏𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 100 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘗𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦. Logging on the forest is currently unsustainable.

Your comments are important!
Information: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/blackhills/projects/304272
Comment here: https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/Public/CommentInput?Project=304272

06/10/2026

More on that...

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06/09/2026

The Black Hills National Forest has been thinned, now it just needs prescribed burning.

06/06/2026

Some people think a tree fallen on the forest floor goes to waste.

What they don’t know is that over the years the rotting wood will hold moisture, provide nutrients to the soil, and micro habitats for small organisms and plants. Eventually, it will hollow and provide protection for a small animal or cover for a birds nest.

06/05/2026

“It’s how we keep public lands working for everyone. These (executive orders) are the foundation land managers rely on to provide motorized access while protecting wildlife, natural resources, and opportunities for quiet, non-motorized recreation."

Trump said the executive orders were overly restrictive, but several conservationists said they protected wildlife, habitat and water.

06/01/2026

Well, here we are just 6 years later...
The 48,000 acre Benchmark Project area hosted logging just 4-6 years ago, and in the past 24 years 42 timber sales have taken place in this area.

These photos show unit #28 of the Maverick Timber Sale in 2020. After the sale, this unit had a few very poorly formed trees left standing. It's likely that many broke in last December's windstorm.
Now in the Benchmark project, Shelterwood Removal (a.k.a. "Overstory Removal") is the "treatment" prescribed for about 300 acres contiguous with this unit. Shelterwood Removal cuts down all trees 9" diameter breast height and over.

Logging levels on the Black Hills National Forest are unsustainable, and this is having negative impacts on ecosystems, recreation, tourism, wildlife, and more.

Information about the Benchmark project can be found here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/blackhills/projects/68498
The link to submit comments is: https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/Public/CommentInput?Project=68498