TPmay21pgs_cs.qxp_Layout 1 4/20/21 8:15 AM Page 8
NEWSFEED risks of severe wildfires—the kind that burned more than 560 square miles of suitable nesting and roosting spotted owl habitat in Oregon last year, AFRC stated. The AFRC lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges USFWS failed to provide a lawful justification for the delay, nor did it provide the public with notice or opportunity to comment. Critical habitat acreage designation for the owl has hovered around 6.8 million acres of federal land, not including national parks, national wildlife refuges, and congressionally designated Wilderness areas where logging is largely prohibited, since the original USFWS designation in 1992. The AFRC lawsuit argues the USFWS critical habitat designation was the product of extensive public comments and is consistent with the
8
■
MAY 2021
■
agency’s obligations under the Endangered Species Act and the O&C Act. The lawsuit asks the U.S. District Court to vacate the USFWS delay and declare the 2021 critical habitat designation as immediately effective.
NEIMAN CLOSES HILL CITY MILL Neiman Enterprises, Inc. announced the shutdown of its sawmill, Rushmore Forest Products, in Hill City, SD, citing a lack of timber sales in the Black Hills National Forest. “This decision does not come easily and our hearts are with those affected,” the company states. The Hill City location directly employed 120, ran 12 contract crews and indirectly supported countless other local businesses. Hill City has a pop-
ulation of approximately 1,000. Jim D. Neiman, President of Neiman Enterprises, Inc., comments, “I never thought I would see the day when we would be out of options to keep all our facilities running. Lumber markets have been exceptionally high for the past year and have broken all-time record highs. The problem here is purely a lack of timber available for purchase in the Black Hills and we rely on the Forest Service for approximately 80 percent of our supply.” The announcement comes as some groups push for continued and even further reductions in available timber. “Unfortunately, there are severe consequences associated with that push and this announcement illustrates what is at stake in the Black Hills—our very ability to care for and manage our forests, and to support our communities,” Neiman says.
Ben Wudtke, Executive Director of Black Hills Forest Resource Assn., recalls the successes in fighting the mountain pine beetle in the Black Hills, but adds, “Waging those battles took all the forest products companies in the Black Hills to help save our forests. We have just lost some of our ability to win those battles.” Neiman Enterprises is based in Hulett, Wyo. and operates a sawmill there, along with a sawmill and pellet mill in Spearfish, SD, and sawmills in Montrose, Colo. and Gilchrist, Ore. Neiman acquired the Hill City sawmill in 1998 from Continental Lumber.
RUSSIA OPENS CLT FACILITY Segezha Group President Mikhail Shamolin visited
TIMBER PROCESSING
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
