USDA Announces $80 Million Investment to Expand Timber Production and Enhance Forest Health in Nevada and Oregon

(Washington, D.C., July 23, 2026) - U.S. Department of Agriculture Acting Under Secretary Todd Lindsey today announced the agency is guaranteeing $80 million through the Timber Production Expansion Guaranteed Loan Program (TPEP) and Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program to support businesses in Oregon and Nevada, boost domestic timber production, and improve forest health.

These investments represent a commitment by the Trump Administration to expand American timber production by 25%, reduce wildfire risk, and save American lives and communities by strengthening domestic wood processing capacity.

"The Timber Production Expansion Partnership program showcases our unified USDA approach in action, bringing together Rural Development and the Forest Service to deliver results for rural America," said Secretary Rollins. "These investments will help strengthen America's timber industry, support jobs in rural communities, and expand the capacity we need to actively manage our forests. By investing in Oregon and Nevada's forest products sector, USDA is reducing wildfire risk, strengthening local economies, and ensuring America's timber resources continue to power our Nation's prosperity."

"We must take decisive steps to protect our rural communities from the growing threat of wildfires," said Under Secretary Lindsey. "That's why Rural Development, in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, is making targeted investments in sawmills and wood processing facilities-including projects in Oregon and Nevada-that expand economic opportunity through sustainable timber management. By strengthening forest-sector businesses, these efforts boost rural prosperity, support long-term economic growth, and create much needed jobs in rural communities."

"This investment in the Timber Production Expansion Partnership program demonstrates an important step towards strengthening America's wood products infrastructure, and rural economies." said Forest Service Chief Schultz. "This supports Forest Service's ability to actively manage the land, reduce the risk of wildfire, and ensure wood products from our national forests support rural communities."

This funding announcement includes:

• $50 million in TPEP and Business and Industry Guaranteed loans to Tahoe Forest Products, LLC. in Nevada, in partnership with MapleMark Bank, to assist the business to expand processing capabilities, including kilns, utilizing timber from Nevada and California, a planer mill, and a new saw line. This expansion will allow the business to shift from raw material production to finished lumber suitable for sale to retail distributors and large-scale construction markets. In addition, the business will increase its capacity for lumber production from purely rough lumber to premium lumber by 60,000 MBF, or thousand board feet.
• $30 million in TPEP and Business and Industry Guaranteed loans to Clatskanie Scion LLC, in Oregon, in partnership with First Interstate Bank. Clatskanie Scion LLC will use the funding to expand operations for Myers Woodline to manufacture industrial lumber products and bolster the region's timber industry. This project includes construction to permanent financing for a new sawmill and installation of related equipment and is expected to create at least 35 jobs.

TPEP is made possible by a partnership between the USDA Rural Development and the U.S. Forest Service and ensures sawmills and other wood processing facilities have the necessary funding to establish, reopen, expand, or improve their operations. The program also helps address the wildfire crisis by investing in local sawmills that clear out dangerous fuel in our forestlands, helping to remove the most immediate threats to communities, critical infrastructure, and natural resources. Since its inception, USDA has invested $165.2 million through TPEP in the states of California, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

For more information on USDA Rural Development investments in rural America, visit the Rural Data Gateway. The Rural Data Gateway is an online tool that strengthens USDA Rural Development partnerships with rural people, entrepreneurs, government officials and Congress by making agency investment data accessible to the public.

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