Letter to the Editor

Tobacco Valley News | October 15, 2025

Affordable housing? For some, that means a wish for a three-bedroom home that they can actually afford the payment. For others, that means a price tag of $600,000! That’s right! All across the state, new developments are in the proposal phase, using the term “affordable” when in fact they are not within the average Montanan’s budget. New legislation is going to ease restrictions on parking lots and subdivisions, but no one is looking at one of the most obvious factors LUMBER!

Back in the day, Lincoln County residents could easily go to the yard and pick up a large bundle of plywood or a full lumber package for pennies on the dollar compared to today.  Lincoln County led the timber industry with 324 million board feet (MMBF) in 1988. At one time, the Eureka Lumber Company Sawmill employed up to 300 employees, and the Owens & Hurst Lumber Mill employed up to 180 residents. The hardest part of building a home was finding the time and the right season. Now, land prices have risen by over 300%, and lumber costs have risen by over 207%. We look at Douglas fir every day, and yet Canada is the single largest supplier of softwood lumber for residential use. The price of lumber has risen due to the added cost of transportation from Canada. Why are we so dependent on Canadian Lumber?

The local timber industry was devastated by lawsuits. The lawsuits claimed the roads or logging skids would decimate the Grizzly Bear population. I have an old logging skid on my land, and I placed a game camera there. Turns out wildlife love them! It’s a highway well-traveled.

Lawsuits make big paychecks for lawyers. The recent appeals court hearing on the Black Ram Project had no mention of fire danger to residents, job loss, or economic hardship to us! Attorneys argued about the illegal usage of dirt roads, and attorneys were paid $154,000. In North Lincoln County, insurance companies are cancelling policies due to fire risk. Lincoln County has 22,000 residents, and no one even mentioned us in these court cases. The most dangerous part is the lack of local knowledge. Attorneys argue our fate: no jobs, increased fire dangers, and increased lumber costs, but not one of them has ever walked a logging skid.

Michelle Bianco

Fortine, Montana