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

Federal Grant Award Summary

Kanduch Logging Inc. (doing business as KLM Contracting) received a $258,780 Project Grant award dated August 29, 2025, 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, with a completion date of August 31, 2027, supports the establishment and improvement of wood processing infrastructure and equipment at the awardee's facility in Philipsburg, Montana. The funding enables the purchase and installation of wood processing equipment and system upgrades specifically designed to process byproducts from ecosystem restoration projects conducted on federal and tribal lands in wildfire-prone areas of the Northern Rockies region.

The grant directly supports the program's objectives of decreasing vegetation removal costs on public lands by creating viable commercial markets for restoration byproducts while stimulating rural economic development and job creation. By improving Kanduch Logging Inc.'s capacity to process forest management byproducts—including materials from thinning, fuels reduction, and ecosystem restoration activities—the infrastructure investment enhances the economic viability of critical forest health and wildfire mitigation work across Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

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.