Buffalo-based wood bank gives away nearly 140 cords of wood so far this winter

Roxi Turk’s monthly heating bill dropped $130 this winter thanks to a friend who told her about Buffalo’s Clear Creek Wood Bank. Her husband, who used to gather the family’s firewood from the Bighorn National Forest, died three years ago. The retiree said buying a $300 cord of wood is out of reach on her fixed income.

Now Turk visits the wood bank at mile 97 of U.S. Highway 16 East in Buffalo every Tuesday between 2-4 p.m., receiving one-seventh of a cord weekly. Her gas heater stays idle.

“I have sleds in the back of my truck, and they load it in the sleds,” she said. “When I get home, I put my car ramps on my tailgate and pull the sleds off.”

Turk enjoys the wood stove’s warmth, but her toy Australian Shepherd probably enjoys it more. The dog’s name? “Chainsaw,” she said. “My husband named him.”

Wood bank board member Kelly Norris, now Wyoming State Forester, started the organization in 2022 with help from a local logger. Despite a warmer winter this year, demand remains strong.

“Our busiest distribution day so far was Jan. 27 with 55 racks,” Norris said. “On Feb. 3 we had 53 families come through. We’re averaging about two families more per week than last year.”

Last year the wood bank distributed 128 cords. This year it will give away 140 cords, hitting $100,000 worth of wood distributed since its founding.

Retired banker Paul Mumm, who oversees weekly operations, calculates the free wood has had a $430,000 economic impact on the region since launch. Johnson County has a high percentage of retirees—U.S. Census data estimates 28% of the county’s population is 65 or older. The wood bank focuses on helping retirees on fixed incomes, the disabled and veterans.

This year 637 Buffalo families have participated, along with 166 families from Arvada, Banner, Clearmont, Gillette, Kaycee, Ranchester, Sheridan, Story and Upton.

Volunteers contribute weekly, including students from local Christian and alternative high schools. They’ve logged 1,561 hours this year.

Two grants—one from the Alliance for Green Heat and another from the Wyoming Community Foundation—cover this year’s and next year’s wood supply costs. After April 1, volunteers will begin processing wood for the 2026-27 season.

Buffalo resident John Goss, another retiree, has used the wood bank since 2022. “It’s helped me a lot. It’s cut my heating bill way down,” he said. “With the way the weather has been this year, it lasts me about the entire week.”