Voices of Montana

Fires, Weak Timber Supply Put RY Timber Down for the Count

Voices of Montana
Voices of Montana
Fires, Weak Timber Supply Put RY Timber Down for the Count
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It is a combination of bad luck, and bad forest policy – but family-owned RY Timber in Livingston will close down after their recent fires, putting 70 people onto the unemployment line. The company’s Townsend mill was shuttered in 2020 due to a lack of timber supply.

Closing the mill was a tough decision for the family, and it’ll cause waves in the timber industry. Former R.Y. Timber Resource Manager Ed Regan joined us to discuss the history of the company and look at the challenges in Montana’s logging and timber industry over the last three decades.

Then, Montana Wood Products Association Executive Director Julia Altemus will follow up with what impact the mills’ closing will have on Montana’s timber industry, and how timber communities respond and recover.

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