Wyoming Can’t Cut Trees Fast Or Soon Enough, Timber Industry Says

To avoid another catastrophic wildfire season and revive Wyoming’s struggling timber industry, logging can’t begin soon enough or happen fast enough, some lumber industry leaders told state legislators Tuesday. 

“It’s not tomorrow, we ought to do it this afternoon,” Gary Ervin, owner of the Saratoga Forest Management lumber mill, told lawmakers. 

He spoke during an annual forest health update for legislators, led by a panel of foresters from the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Wyoming State Foresty Division.

During his comments, Jim Neiman, president and CEO of Hulett-based Neiman Enterprises Forestry Products, echoed Ervin’s sense of urgency.

“We need emergency action, just like you would with a fire,” he said. “We have that same emergency situation in our industry right now.”

Neiman previously told Cowboy State Daily that he’s found hope in President Donald Trump’s stance that the U.S. doesn’t need Canadian Timber. 

Timber from Canada flooding the American market has contributed to the Wyoming lumber industy’s woes, he said. 

Swaths of dead trees, many of them killed by insect infestations, remain a huge fire hazard, Wyoming State Forester Kelly Norris said. 

However, some timber mills such as Ervin’s are capable of processing beetle-killed trees into marketable lumber products, she said.

Black Hills The Next Trouble Spot?

Wildfires took a huge toll on forests in Wyoming last year, particularly in the western and north-central part of the state. 

But there’s increasing concern that the Black Hills could explode next. 

Bud worms and pine beetles have long been killing trees in the western part of the state, Norris said. But the Black Hills also recently saw a dramatic uptick in pine beetle infestation.

Getting dead timber cleared out of forests to help mitigate wildfire risks is a priority, she said. 

It’s not only commercial loggers who can pitch in. The Bureau of Land Management recently doubled its sale of household firewood cutting permits in parts of Wyoming, said agency forester Heidi Rogers.

Endangered Species Can’t Live If Forests Burn

The Forest Service is ready to do what it can to support Wyoming’s timber industry, said Troy Heithecker, the agency’s regional forester for the Rocky Mountain Region.

“I’m committed to (logging). We can’t keep our forests healthy without it,” he said.

Staff cuts and other changes to the Forest Service being implemented by the Trump administration could make the agency leaner and more efficient, he said.

However, green-lighting logging operations still involve red tape, such as making sure operations comply with the Endangered Species Act, Heithecker said. 

Even so, when done right, logging shouldn’t hurt endangered species or other wildlife, he said.

“We’re not talking about just going in and clear-cutting everything,” he said.

And reducing the risk of massive wildfires protects wildlife, Heithecker added. 

If it all burns, then the habitat is gone for the endangered species, whether that’s plants or owls or bats,” he said.

Contact Mark Heinz at mark@cowboystatedaily.com

Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.