RY Timber

Montana’s economic performance in 2020 will go down as the worst in its post war history, but economists say a flood of federal relief dollars have largely buoyed incomes and the state’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana held its annual economic outlook seminar this week and told the story of Montana’s industries.

It’s been nearly a month since the Bridger Foothills Fire burned through people’s timbered properties northeast of Bozeman. Landowners now have to figure out if they want to play a role in shaping what their forests will look like, 10 to 100 years in the future. A forestry expert is helping them understand the science and the tradeoffs.

The Custer Gallatin National Forest recently released a plan that will guide conservation, recreation and industry decisions on more than 3 million acres for the next decade or more.

A Montana timber company on Jan. 13 announced indefinitely closing one of its two sawmills, citing chronic timber supply problems due to litigation.…