Pyramid Lumber in Seeley Lake, MT Closing

[Nameless Range]

This map is 14 years old, and would look a bit different today.



In northern Jefferson County I think our largest employers outside of the schools are two mills - MM Post and Pole, and Marks Lumber.

 

[sapperJ24]

St Regis, Deer Lodge and Livingston are still open.
Does Columbia Falls still have a mill?

Weyerhaeuser has its MDF facility in Columbia Falls. Stoltze is also still in operation.

Weyerhaeuser’s Plant in Columbia Falls, Montana, Is the World’s Longest-Running Medium-Density Fiberboard Facility

In the 1920s, inventor William Mason was determined to find a use for scrap wood left over from lumber manufacturing. As the story goes, one night he accidentally left a press machine running and returned in the morning to find a primitive sheet of what we now know as “masonite,” or fiberboard.

www.weyerhaeuser.com

A Legacy of Land and Lumber - Flathead Beacon

When Ron Buentemeier started working in the woods in the early 1960s, there were at least nine lumber mills running in the Flathead Valley. There was American Timber out in Olney, C&C Plywood in Evergreen, and Plum Creek in Columbia Falls, to name a few. And of course, there was F.H. Stoltze...

flatheadbeacon.com

 

[tjones]

IFG shut down the St Regis mill a few years ago.

 

[Southern Elk]

A lot of the lumber in this part of the world comes from Canada. I’m not sure how they can make it work, but we can’t.

 

[BigHornRam]

A lot of the lumber in this part of the world comes from Canada. I’m not sure how they can make it work, but we can’t.

They pay next to nothing for timber on crown land and the government subsidies mills with low interest loans to keep people employed.

 

[buckbull]

Stumbled upon this YouTube video about the mill closing. Maybe it was mentioned in this thread but turns out it's the mills inability to hire people based in large part of lack of affordable housing.

 

[hank4elk]

Sad.
I dated a waitress from Seeley. Lived in a house full of waitresses. Ruby...I remembered her name.
The story over a cuppa in the kitchen was Seeley was a retirement city for Carnies. Old joke.
Gave the sheriff a ride to Butte one day...and got a lecture. He was Ruby's uncle.
Ate at Trixies.

 

[Straight Arrow]

Couple weeks ago we camped at Seeley, kayaked the Canoe Trail, hiked to Morrell Falls and learned about current bad news concerning the area. Although Pyramid Lumber appears to be in full production and there is a slim potential for a buyer, the prediction is closure with the loss of this major employer and many jobs. On the west side Boy Scout Road, the bridge over the Clearwater River and the nearby Seeley Lake Campground are closed, with uncertain campground reopen date. The bridge is not expected to be rebuilt until 2026.
Folks in Seeley are understandably concerned.
Anyone interested in investing in a lumber mill? There is logging going on right now.

 

[Flynarrow]

Couple weeks ago we camped at Seeley, kayaked the Canoe Trail, hiked to Morrell Falls and learned about current bad news concerning the area. Although Pyramid Lumber appears to be in full production and there is a slim potential for a buyer, the prediction is closure with the loss of this major employer and many jobs. On the west side Boy Scout Road, the bridge over the Clearwater River and the nearby Seeley Lake Campground are closed, with uncertain campground reopen date. The bridge is not expected to be rebuilt until 2026.
Folks in Seeley are understandably concerned.
Anyone interested in investing in a lumber mill? There is logging going on right now.

Who would invest millions in a mill and upgrading when both the workforce and timber supply are so uncertain......and tight competition from low cost producers in Canada, southern and northwest US? And costly transportation for byproduct market?