Governor Gianforte Proclaims Montana Forest Products Week

Governor's Office

HELENA, Mont. - Governor Greg Gianforte this week proclaimed October 18 to 24 as Montana Forest Products Week, recognizing the people and businesses that support active forest management, good-paying jobs, and Montana's economy.

"Montana's forest products industry is critical to our economy and to the health of our forests," Gov. Gianforte said. "Supporting our mills, loggers, and wood products businesses means supporting good-paying jobs, healthier forests, and safer communities."

Established by a joint legislative resolution in 2011, the week recognizes an industry that supports more than 10,000 jobs and $600 million in wages annually in Montana.

"A strong, diverse forest products industry provides the workforce, equipment, and processing capacity needed to improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk," The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) Director Amanda Kaster said. "Timber harvested through active forest management supplies local mills, helps offset project costs, and makes additional forest restoration work possible."

DNRC supports the forest products industry through timber sales on state trust lands, federal forest management partnerships, and through education and outreach. In fiscal year 2026, timber sales on state trust lands generated approximately $8 million in revenue for Montana's public schools and other trust beneficiaries. Through the Good Neighbor Authority program, DNRC partners with the U.S. Forest Service to implement forest management and restoration projects on federal lands, supplying timber to local mills and reinvesting timber sale revenue into future projects.

To celebrate Forest Products Week, DNRC is supporting educational tours across the state, including two events funded through its Forest Products Week mini-grant program. In southwest Montana, approximately 200 high school students across four schools will visit the West Big Hole logging project and Sun Mountain Lumber to see how timber is harvested and then processed into the wood products we use every day.

On October 22, the Kalispell Area Chamber of Commerce and partners will host a public timber tour featuring Weyerhaeuser's Medium Density Fiberboard plant and the F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber timber harvest site.

DNRC is also partnering with Kalispell Public Schools to introduce second graders to forest management, wildlife, and forestry careers through a Walk in the Woods event. For more information about Forest Products Industry Week and upcoming tours, events, and workshops, visit dnrc.mt.gov/forestproducts.

The governor's Forest Products Week proclamation can be viewed here.

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