Montana Lawmakers Create Low-Interest Loan Program for Reopening Shuttered Sawmills

In an effort to strengthen Montana’s economy and improve forest health, state lawmakers recently passed a bill establishing a low-interest loan program for companies seeking to reopen shuttered mills, NBC Montana reported (5-12-25).

In March 2024, Missoula County’s two largest wood products facilities—Pyramid Mountain Lumber in Seeley Lake and Roseburg Forest Products in Missoula—announced plans to close, affecting approximately 250 employees.

Since then, the Missoula Economic Partnership has been working to attract a company to take over the former Pyramid Mountain Lumber sawmill, according to Grant Kier, the organization’s president and CEO. The partnership supported House Bill 876 as “a piece of the puzzle, not the whole solution,” Kier told the Montana Free Press.

“It’s important to recognize this money is part of a whole suite of tools we’ll try to bring to the table to make financing more favorable and appealing to someone if they’re willing to invest in a sawmill in western Montana,” Kier said. “At the end of the day, it’s probably enough to send a really strong signal to somebody that the state government is really supportive of the industry and wants to see investments.”

House Bill 876, also known as the Sawmill Revitalization Act, allocates $6 million for loans to be administered by the state Board of Investments. Any funds not used by June 30, 2027, will revert to the capital development long-range building account. The bill is awaiting Gov. Greg Gianforte’s signature.

During both committee hearings and floor debate in the Senate, some lawmakers questioned the decision to commit $6 million in taxpayer funds to loans that would cover only a fraction of the total cost required to reopen a mill.