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Work continues on the East Short Pines Restoration and Resiliency project. The project, located in the East Short Pines Land Unit, one of eight land units managed by the Sioux Ranger District, is in western South Dakota and part of the Custer Gallatin National Forest.

Work started in 2019 on the timber sale project and Nieman Lumber out of Spearfish, SD is conducting the work. Log trucks will begin hauling again and throughout the month of October to finish the sale this fall. Users should expect heavy truck traffic coming out of East Short Pines area and hauling on the Harding and Dillon Roads. Once logging is completed, rehab of temporary roads and landings will start.

"We anticipate that equipment including logging trucks may still be using Forest Service Road #3159 and finishing rehabilitation work into early November," said Kurt Hansen, Sioux District Ranger. "The road is open, but visitors should expect heavy truck traffic throughout the entire fall season."

The East Short Pines Restoration and Resiliency Project aims to manage fire adapted ecosystems to provide a mosaic of forest, grassland and riparian woody draw vegetation types; support the local timber industry, as well as revise the current Sioux Ranger District Travel Management Decision and map to provide better public and administrative access.

The project treats about 1700 acres through a variety of treatment types; including thinning, regeneration harvest, broadcast burning, as well as hand-pile prescribed burning. The project is also designed to provide legal access to two historical dispersed camping sites, improve Forest Service Road #3160 providing better year-round public access, and designate approximately 0.47 mile of Forest Service Road #3160 for administrative/management use only. The project also decommissions almost a mile of Forest Service Route #3159 (a motorized trail that has naturally re-vegetated).

For additional information please contact the Sioux Ranger District at 605-797-4432.