Wednesday, Jul 6 2011 3:48PM
Senator Mark Udall of Colorado sent a letter to the USDA and U.S. Forest Service in an effort to save hundreds of saw mill jobs.
On July 5, Senator Mark
Udall of Colorado wrote a letter to the
U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help support three of the state's largest rural employers.
Udall says three mills employ hundreds of workers from rural communities statewide, but are struggling financially under their current contracts because the troubles of the housing market have cut sales.
He said revising the mills' contracts with the USFS and USDA would allow them to stay open and continue providing jobs. Udall added the mills also help the area by turning trees damaged by bark beetles into wood products. Removing the dead trees also helps prevent wildfires across the state.
"These mills provide hundreds of jobs in Colorado's rural communities and are irreplaceable parts of the statewide infrastructure we need to reduce wildfire risk to communities,"
Udall said.
The mills in question are Intermountain Resources in Montrose, Mountain Valley Lumber in
Saguache and Delta Timber in Delta.
Udall initially brought attention to the saw mills' issues during a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in June.