Dan Hilger was a long-time employee of Bighorn Logging, who died suddenly at age 34. The Dan Hilger Memorial Trap Shoot began in his memory in 1997 as a fundraiser to create a college fund for his children. In the first 18 years, over $100,000 was raised and all four of his children have now completed college. Since 2015, the Trap Shoot has carried on to fund the Dan Hilger Memorial Scholarship, a scholarship available to help students who would like to pursue a career in forestry. With the help of the Banks Community Foundation, the first two Scholarships were given in 2017.

Several members of the Dan Hilger Scholarship Committee recognized the need to expand the scholarship and saw it as an opportunity to form the Dan Hilger Memorial Foundation. The Foundation was formed in 2018 “to promote the future advancement of any Forest Industry related activities, specifically, to provide scholarships to college students intending to enter the Forest Industry and to participate in other charitable activities important to Dan Hilger.” The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation and holds fundraisers throughout the year.