Timber Sales
Timber management on the Daniel Boone National Forest involves growing and harvesting timber and other forest products. Sales of timber and other products are designed to maintain or improve forest resources like wildlife habitat and also to provide jobs and products for people to enjoy.
Just as the technology of communication has changed considerably in the past few years, the management of timber resources has undergone a significant evolution as well. Environmental Analysis, site specific project planning, contract/project development, project implementation and contract administration are tightly woven together to assure the benefits we receive from forest products are consistent with sound forest management practices that will carry our forests into the future.
Digital Only Timber Sale Notifications
As of July 1, 2025, the Daniel Boone National Forest provides digital only notification of upcoming timber sales and bid openings. We no longer advertise timber sales in the local newspaper or physically mail hard copy bid packets (unless an accommodation is requested). We will post all sale advertisements and bid packets, including bid letters and sale area maps, to our website and email that same information to our current timber purchasers contact list.
FY27 Timber Sale Schedule
The Daniel Boone National Forest plans to offer six timber sales for bid in FY27. Specific sale information will be shared in the individual advertisement for each sale and posted to this webpage.
Where does timber money go?
Short answer: Right back into the forest and the local community.
Longer answer: The money from timber sales goes to support the local communities and the forest from which the timber was harvested, as well as projects across the national forest system. The types of projects and the amounts of money that go to support them depend on the type of timber sale.
1. Stewardship projects (stewardship contracts): The Forest Service can keep all of the money from the sale on the forest and reinvest them directly into on-the-ground work. The Daniel Boone National Forest uses stewardship authority often, so this is a big piece of the picture. Forest projects that stewardship contracts can include:
- Road and trail repairs
- Wildlife habitat improvements
- Stream and watershed restoration
- Invasive species removal
- Additional thinning or prescribed burning
2. National Forest Fund (traditional timber sales): Most traditional timber sales fall under the National Forest Fund. Under this model, the money from the timber sale is sent to the National Forest Fund, then a portion comes back to the forest to support projects like:
- Timber program operations
- Reforestation
- Stand improvement
- Planning and environmental analysis
3. Payments to counties: By law, 25% of timber receipts go back to the counties where the timber was harvested. On the Daniel Boone National Forest, that money supports:
- Local schools
- County roads
- Rural services
Some counties opt into the Secure Rural Schools program instead, but the purpose is the same — supporting local communities. To learn how much and where payments are made visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/working-with-us/secure-rural-schools/payments.
What this means for the Daniel Boone National Forest
For the Daniel Boone, timber receipts help fund the very work that keeps forests healthy and productive:
- Shortleaf pine restoration
- Thinning overcrowded stands
- Prescribed burning
- Wildlife habitat work
- Road and recreation site maintenance
When people see timber being harvested, the revenue is part of a cycle that supports both forest health and local communities.