Here is how regional approaches to the management of national forests cripple the ability of the Forest Service to serve the public.
The Forest Service says they currently have 17,588 acres of Montana’s forests tied up in court. That’s enough lumber and wood panels to make about 10,000 to 12,000 single-family homes.
TOWNSEND, Mont. — A Montana town of only 2,000 residents is about to lose one of its biggest employers — a timber mill.
RY Timber said it will be shutting down its Townsend location in April, laying off about 70 employees. It had been running for about 40 years. Management blames ongoing litigation against the logging industry as the reason for the mill’s closure.
The Forest Service says they currently have 17,588 acres of Montana’s forests tied up in court. That’s enough lumber and wood panels to make about 10,000 to 12,000 single-family homes.
“I would describe the timber industry as part of a conglomerate of corporations that are here basically working with the federal government, the banks, the builders — their part of this system of supplying materials to home builders,” said Steve Kelley, a board member for the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, an environmental organization that uses environmental law to secure the ecological integrity of the Wild Rockies bio-region. (VIDEO-GO TO ARTICLE)
“Our hope during the last 10 years was for an increase in federal timber sales and less litigation, and despite growing momentum for more active management by the Forest Service, litigation continues,” said Regan.
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