Timber Tour highlights bright spots in industry

By Mackenzie Reiss
Daily Inter Lake
October 19, 2017
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

More than 30 hard-hat wearing locals climbed out of a bus in front of F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co. Thursday afternoon. Trucks stacked high with behemoth logs chugged past the visitors, who assembled around a handful of mill employees for the Flathead Timber Tour, which began at Stoltze and ended at Weyerhaeuser, both in Columbia Falls. The tour, which was hosted by the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, was held in honor of National Forest Products Week, Oct. 15-21. The distinction was established by Congress in 1960 to celebrate the contribution of the forests to the country’s economy and well-being. Montana’s forest product industry employs more than 7,000 workers who were paid over $320 million in wages last year, according to the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. …. The majority of that sector is devoted to wood manufacturing, followed by forestry support, logging and lastly, paper manufacturing.

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