Neiman Enterprises announces shift cuts

Neiman Enterprises announced last week that it will be reducing hours for employees at both of its sawmills in the Black Hills. The reduction will see a shift removed at the Hulett sawmill and reduced hours in Spearfish, SD.

The move has been attributed to a reduction in timber sales across the Black Hills National Forest, with indications that further cuts may be coming within the draft assessments for the upcoming revisions of the forest's Land and Resource Management plan.

In a statement, President of Neiman Enterprises Jim Neiman said, "While we may not agree with the reduction in timber harvest that led to these curtailments, we are committed to our partnerships with all stakeholders, including the local, regional and national levels of the U.S. Forest Service, and will continue to work side-by-side with them to maintain the health of the Black Hills National Forest."

According to Sonja Merryman, Community Relations and Marketing, hours will be reduced by 20 in Spearfish and the shift removal is expected to affect all 75 employees at the Hulett mill. However, she stresses that the changes do not, at this time, include any layoffs.

"We're committed to our employees, the Hulett community and the health of the Forest, which is why this curtailment does not include employee layoffs," she says.

"We believe the forest needs our sawmills running at full capacity to meet the annual growth and fuels reductions in the Black Hills." 

The announcement comes just over a year after Neiman Enterprises said it would be closing its mill in Hill City, SD. This decision, too, was attributed to a reduction in timber sales on the Black Hills National Forest and the subsequent decrease in log supply.

According to an evaluation of the available timber in this area, which was prepared as part of the process of revising the U.S. Forest Service's forest management plan, there is a need for change within the local timber program.

Driving this need, according to the assessment, is the fact that the 1997 forest plan timber program was, "based on ideal net growth that assumed in an increase of the standing inventory for the next five decades." In other words, they were not consistent with the actual, on-the-ground conditions between 1996 and 2021.

"The combination of the major ecosystem drivers and stressors, timber production, bark beetles and wildfire during this time have caused long-term changes to the forest," states the assessment, which claims the volume of trees with a diameter at breast height between five and 14.9 inches has decreased by between 32% and 42%.

"This also indicates that actual average annual program levels of 162,500 CCF sold and 178,000 CCF cut, 1997 to 2021, were not sustainable," states the assessment.

Neiman Enterprises CEO Steve Henson said in a statement following last week's announcement that, "Neiman Enterprises is pursuing an updated stewardship-driven model of fostering health and resilience in the lands we help manage, and we are obligated to balance the needs of our families with the needs of our forest."

The company says it will continue to seek partnerships with policymakers and public land manages for long-term forest health solutions.