In terms of geography and forests, east meets west in South Dakota in a rather dramatic way. The Prairie Plains in the east gradually give way to the grasslands of the Great Plains in the west as elevation increases by some 1,500 ft (450 m) between the Minnesota border and Rapid City.
The forests in the Plains regions are primarily associated with water-reservoirs, lakes, and the dominating Missouri River and its major tributaries such as the Cheyenne, Big White, Moreau, Grand, and Bad rivers. Collectively these forests make up only 10% of the total forestland in the state and consist primarily of tree species associated with the eastern hardwood forests—elm, ash, basswood, and so forth. In the far western portion of the state and spilling over into northeastern Wyoming are the Black Hills. The forests in the Black Hills and at higher elevations west of the 103rd meridian to the southeast and north of the "Hills" are typically "western," consisting principally of ponderosa pine. About 90% of the forestland in South Dakota occurs west of the 103rd meridian, and most of it is in the Black Hills. Three counties, Pennington, Lawrence, and Custer, account for most of the State's forest area, which totals roughly 1,619,000 acres (655,209 million hectares).
The public sector owns 66% of South Dakota's forestland. The Black Hills and Custer National Forests administer about 90% of the public forestland. The rest is under the jurisdiction of the State and the US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Most of the state-owned land is in the Custer State Park. East of Rapid City the 226,300 acres (91,500 hectares) of forestland is primarily privately owned.
Nonreserved timberland is the primary component of the state's forestland and occupies 1,511,000 acres (612,000 hectares). Woodland covers an additional 23,000 acres (9,300 hectares). Of the forestland, 1% contained primarily in national parks is reserved from harvesting wood products. Ponderosa pine is the state's predominant species. The 2nd most predominant species is the bottomland hardwood group (elm/ash).
Sawtimber stands occupy 964,700 acres (390,400 hectares), which is more than half the total forested area; 675,000 acres (273,000 hectares) of this area is found in national forests. Poletimber stands account for a fifth of the timberland base, and sapling and seedling stands account for an additional 118,700 acres (48,000 hectares) of timberland.
South Dakota's timberland is not very productive when compared to other western states. Less than one-fifth of the state's timberland has the potential to produce greater than 50 cu ft (1.42 cu m) per acre per year. However, this is not to say that the state's timberland, and in particular the Black Hills area, has not been a good timber producer. The Black Hills have, for nearly a century, been successfully producing and supplying sawlogs, fuelwood, pulpwood, posts, and poles.