Neiman announces layoffs at Spearfish mill

Neiman Enterprises has announced layoffs and production reductions at Spearfish Forest Products, its last remaining facility in South Dakota.

The company says the decision is due to reductions in the timber sale program on the Black Hills National Forest.

“We have done everything possible to prevent this unfortunate outcome that will impact these employees, our community, and ultimately the health of the forest,” said Jim Neiman, President.

“We’ve weathered economic and market downturns over the decades. These layoffs, however, are a direct result of the reduction in the Forest Service timber sale program.”

Employees were notified of the shift reduction on April 11. The company stated in a press release that it will continue to work to ensure appropriate resources are provided to the around 50 employees who are affected and their families.

“On behalf of the Neiman family, we want to express our deepest gratitude to the affected employees for their hard work and dedication,” said Neiman.

“We’re committed to providing support during this challenging transition, including assistance with job placement and access to resources.”

This is the second time in under two years that Neiman Enterprises has announced shift reductions. In July, 2022, the company reduced hours at both of its sawmills, removing a shift in Hulett and reducing hours in Spearfish.

That move, too, was attributed to a reduction in timber harvests.

A year before, the company closed its mill in Hill City, SD, citing the same reason.

Timber harvests had been unusually high during the period before those decisions, largely due to two factors: the mountain pine beetle epidemic and wildfires, according to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). These led the USFS to enter a period of significant thinning as part of its efforts to maintain the health of the forest.

However, during the process of revising the Black Hills National Forest Management Plan, the USFS determined that change would be needed and the 1997 forest timber plan was not consistent with actual, on-the-ground conditions.

Though the initial assessments caused consternation and led officials in Wyoming and South Dakota to call for a rethink, the revised version still estimates that the standing inventory of trees in the 5- to 14.9-inch diameter classes has decreased by between 32 and 43% on lands suitable for timber production.

In the fall of 2020, the Black Hills National Forest Advisory Board approved a recommendation to initiate forest plan revision and an annual commercial sawtimber program of 181,000 CCF for 2022 through 2027.

Ben Wudtke, Executive Director of the Black Hills Forest Resource Association, commented, “Some outspoken individuals leave out key science in hopes of painting a picture that all the timber has been cut on the BHNF and logging levels are no longer sustainable. The fact is that, as verified by a federal review of FS data, we have more timber now than in the 70s and 80s when the BHNF was selling twice the amount of timber and that these decisions to reduce the timber sale program now are rushing us towards the same forest conditions that resulted in the most recent pine beetle epidemic and fires that threatened our communities.

“History has shown again and again that decisions like that to reduce the BHNF timber sale program, are dangerous and come with serious consequences.”

In a press release announcing the layoffs penned by Sonja Merryman, Community Relations, the Neiman family states that it “recognizes the impacts this decision carries and has not reached it lightly”, offering thanks for the support from surrounding communities, organizations and stakeholders.