South Dakota

Ranking as one of the state’s top manufacturing industries, South Dakota’s forest products industry is a vital component of the state’s economy. The industry employs 4,000 workers with an annual payroll of $100 million.  South Dakota’s paper and wood manufacturing workforce represents 4.6 percent of the state’s total manufacturing workforce.

Approximately 3 percent of South Dakota is forested.  Credited to regeneration and planting programs, the net annual forest growth exceeds harvests by a substantial margin.

South Dakota's Land Area (in thousands of acres)
Total Land Area: 48,571
Forests: 1,632
Forests as Percent of Total: 3.4%
Federal Lands: 2,754
National Forest System: 2,012

Timberland (in thousands of acres)
Government
    Federal: 946
    State: 54
    County & Municipal: 1
Other Private Nonindustrial: 485
Total Timberland: 1,486

Federal Land Set-Asides (in thousands of acres)
National Parks: 274
Reserved National Forest: 43
Fish & Wildlife Service: 1,121
Total: 1,438

Tree Planting (acres)
Federal: 229
State, County & Municipal: 73
Farmer & Other Private: 4,464
Total: 4,766

Value of Industry Shipments (in thousands of dollars)
Wood Product Manufacturing: $204,199
Paper Manufacturing: $151,151

Capital Expenditures (in thousands of dollars)
Wood Product Manufacturing: $5,185
Paper Manufacturing: $4,311

Annual Production
Hardwood Lumber (million board feet): *
*withheld to avoid disclosing data for an individual company

Timberland Ownership
Government: 67%
Other Private Nonindustrial: 33%

South Dakota’s total softwood and hardwood inventory has increased 13 percent since 1953 despite increasing production of wood and paper products.

Employment
Forestry: 7
Lumber & Wood Products (includes logging): 3,544
Paper & Allied Products: 921