The wood products infrastructure assistance program supports facilities that purchase timber and forest byproducts primarily from united states federal or tribal forests

Sun Mountain Lumber, Inc. received a $999,840 Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Northern Region, under the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act Financial Assistance to Facilities that Purchase and Process Byproducts for Ecosystem Restoration program (CFDA 10.725). The award, issued on August 20, 2025, with a completion date of June 30, 2027, supports the awardee's wood processing infrastructure development in Deer Lodge, Montana. The funded activities focus on the purchase and installation of wood processing equipment and system upgrades designed to increase the facility's capacity to process byproducts from ecosystem restoration projects on federal and Tribal lands in the Northern Rocky Mountain region.

The grant supports Sun Mountain Lumber's efforts to stimulate rural economic development and create sustainable employment opportunities while advancing active forest management in high-priority ecological restoration areas at risk of severe wildfire, insect, or disease infestation. By enhancing processing capabilities for restoration byproducts, the project aims to decrease vegetation removal costs on public lands and establish viable commercial markets for materials derived from ecosystem management activities on federal and Tribal forest lands.

This includes applications to establish, reopen, retrofit, expand, or improve facilities that purchase and process byproducts from ecosystem restoration projects from federal or tribal lands in areas at risk of unnaturally severe wildfire or insect and disease. The emphasis is on areas of severe high fire or insect or disease infestation with high or very high priority for restoration. Activities to be funded include, but are not limited to, costs associated with the purchase and installation of wood processing equipment and wood processing system upgrades at wood products manufacturing facilities. The program stimulates rural economies, supports active forest management and creates and retains rural jobs.