Black Hills National Forest

US Forest Service
Black Hills National Forest
1019 N. 5th Street
Custer, SD 57730
605-673-9200

Telephone for the
Hearing Impaired
605-673-9227

News Release

USDA Forest Service

Black Hills National Forest

Contact: Frank Carroll or Gary C. Chancey (605) 673-9200, or email us at r2 blackhills webinfo@fs.fed.us

BLACK HILLS SNOWFALL ALLOWS FOREST SERVICE TO BURN SLASH

CUSTER, SD: DECEMBER 9, 2005

Several inches of snow and an artic blast of cold weather has crews in the Black Hills National Forest burning numerous slash piles. The slash is from debris left behind from thinning projects and timber sales. The forest hopes the thinning projects will help prevent large wildfires near populated areas. Watch Video

An estimated 41,000 small slash piles made by hand have yet to be burned across the forest, while 2,100 large piles made by machinery have to be burned. Each of the four ranger districts plan to stay busy this winter burning slash piles as long as there’s snow on the ground.

The Rapid City, SD based Mystic ranger district hopes to burn 500 large slash piles and over 7,000 smaller piles.

The Bearlodge ranger district in Sundance, Wy has 4,000 small piles and 150 large slash piles to burn.

The Northern Hills ranger district in Spearfish, SD has 20,000 small piles and 650 large piles that need to be burned.

In Custer, SD, the Hell Canyon ranger district reports 10,000 small slash piles and another 800 large piles that have to be burned.

This burning represents a tremendous loss of forest biomass that could be used to produce energy or as forest products if markets were available and profitable.