Timber company makes use of dead pine beetle trees - KOTA Territory News

Timber company makes use of dead pine beetle trees

With so many dead pine beetle trees in the Black Hills, one Rapid City timber company is finding a way to help lessen the waste.
 
For the past three years Timber West off Old Folsom Road in Rapid City has been taking in shipments of pine beetle wood.

With an estimated 100,000 infected trees in Custer State park, foremen say that's where they get the majority of their shipments.

At peak times of the year, they say they receive 90 tons in shipments per day.

The wood is used for fence posts, particle board or as mulch.
 
Foremen say the quality of the wood doesn't suffer until about a year after the tree has been infected.