Montana Sawmill in Jeopardy, Waits on U.S. Forest Service

Tricon Timber in Mineral county is one of the few remaining lumber mills in Montana and according to Mineral county commissioner Duane Simons, the mill could face disaster in less than 70 days unless the U.S. Forest Service renegotiates a group of expensive helicopter logging contracts. Although there have been verbal affirmations of a deal, so far, Tricon has received nothing in writing. Simons, who also happens to work for Tricon, was kind enough to speak with KGVO about the difficulties of the situation and how failure to reach a resolution could damage not only Tricon, but all of Mineral County.

Tricon is the largest employer in mineral county and if a deal is not made, it could mean the loss of around 200 jobs and a crushing blow to Montana's economy.