Black Hills National Forest

Gov. Kristi Noem is joining Wyoming’s governor in calling for the Black Hills National Forest to redo a draft of its upcoming forest plan revision. Current draft assessments call for reductions in timber sales.

An independent review confirms a report that supports reduced timber sales in the Black Hills National Forest. The review came after the report was challenged by members of the timber industry.

The US Forest Service is developing a recovery plan for the 3,232 acres of national forest burned by the Fish wildfire.

Forest officials say a native insect is the culprit, and they believe the trees are still alive.

The Fish Fire south of Sundance, Wyoming, was 96 percent contained as of Monday morning. The Wyoming State Type 3 Incident Management Team also took control of containing the blaze.

The Fish Fire south of Sundance, Wyoming, has stopped growing for the time as containment increases to 44 percent. Evacuated residents have begun returning to their homes.

Neiman Enterprises announced it will reduce employee hours and shifts at its Spearfish and Hulett, Wyoming, sawmills. The company says it's because of logging restrictions in the Black Hills.

The federal government has given nearly $27 million dollars to help with overdue maintenance at the Black Hills National Forests and other wilderness areas in the greater Rocky Mountain region.

The Black Hills National Forest is working with stakeholders to protect and balance recreation, business, the environment and grazing land as it sees an explosion in off-road vehicle riders.

The Black Hills National Forest plans to remove white spruce for wildfire management. By cutting down white spruce, officials hope to allow other tree species to grow.