Colorado's largest lumber mill is closing its doors, and the 90 workers at Montrose Forest Products have already been told their jobs are ending. Neiman Enterprises, the family-owned forestry company that has run the mill since 2012, informed employees on September 8, 2026 that operations would wind down after the facility's timber supply runs out in the coming weeks, with layoffs staggered between September 8 and November 6.
The closure notice, filed with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment as required under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, marks the end of a mill that company president Jim Neiman says was Colorado's largest, according to The Denver Post. Neiman Enterprises said it searched for a buyer to keep the Montrose facility running but came up empty, and the company said the closure does not reflect a lack of effort by the company, its employees, or its contractors.
Jim Neiman, who leads the family-owned, Hulett, Wyoming-based company, expressed concern for employees, contractors, and their families as the mill winds down. Neiman Enterprises has poured more than $60 million into upgrades at the Montrose plant over the years, and the company said it is still evaluating all available options, though the paper reports that available options currently point to the mill not remaining open.
A Supply Problem a Decade in the Making
The Montrose mill's troubles trace back to how it was built. Neiman Enterprises has operated the facility since 2012. Severe insect infestations had affected roughly 40% of spruce and aspen stands, according to the Colorado Forest Restoration Institute, but that dead wood can deteriorate and crack over time.
The mill faced timber shortages and depended heavily on public lands. As of late 2023, Montrose Forest Products sourced approximately 98% of its raw logs directly from public lands, according to The Colorado Sun, leaving the mill exposed to federal timber sale reductions. Per the Denver Post, efforts to address timber shortages did boost supply over the past year, but that boost was not expected to provide the volume the mill needed long-term, and the shortfall combined with higher operating costs, especially fuel, to make continued operation untenable.
Recent Efforts to Feed the Mill Fell Short
State and federal agencies did try to bridge the gap in the mill's final months. In February 2026, the Colorado State Forest Service and U.S. Forest Service awarded the 1,284-acre Bald Good Neighbor Authority Timber Sale in the GMUG National Forest, delivering 50,000 tons of spruce-fir sawlogs to Montrose Forest Products, according to the Western Forestry Leadership Coalition. The Good Neighbor Authority arrangement allows state forestry agencies to manage timber sales on federal land to speed up forest health treatments.
Even a broader federal policy shift had failed to solve the underlying volume problem. Back in September 2023, the Colorado Sun reported on a draft Record of Decision issued the prior month for a new Land Management Plan for the GMUG National Forests that expanded areas suitable for active timber harvesting by 300,000 acres, aimed at mitigating wildfire risk and spruce beetle damage. Western Colorado county governments backed the expanded fuels management, while environmental organizations opposed the higher harvest limits — a tension that has continued into 2026, as timber advocates warned during debates over the Gunnison Outdoor Resources Protection Act that proposed wilderness and conservation designations could restrict timber projects and affect jobs, according to the Gunnison Country Times.
Tariffs added another squeeze in the mill's final weeks. Canadian wood products were hit with a 50% tariff on August 19, 2026, per the Denver Post's reporting, layering new cost pressure onto an operation already struggling with rising fuel and transportation expenses.
The Economic Toll on Montrose
The mill's closure lands hard on a local economy that has leaned on it for years. Montrose Forest Products contributed an estimated $157 million to the local economy last year and $73 million in payrolls, according to a study by the Montrose Economic Development Corporation cited by the Denver Post. Logging operations supplying the mill supported 232 jobs directly and generated a payroll of $23.7 million, while the mill itself supported another 84 indirect jobs beyond its 90 direct employees.
Montrose Forest Products was one of only three commercial-scale mills left in Colorado, a state that ranks in the bottom half of U.S. states for lumber production despite ranking sixth nationally for forest acres. Colorado now imports nearly 90% of the wood used for its consumer and commercial products, the Denver Post reports, and the state's mill count has collapsed from 87 in 1987 down to 33 today.
A Pattern Across the Rocky Mountains
Montrose is not an isolated case. Neiman Enterprises previously shut its Hill City, South Dakota, sawmill in 2021 after 50 years in operation, following sharp reductions in U.S. Forest Service timber sales in the Black Hills National Forest, according to Cowboy State Daily. By April 2025, Wyoming had been reduced to just two remaining large commercial sawmills — Neiman's Hulett plant and Saratoga Forest Management — reflecting a broader contraction of forestry infrastructure across the central Rocky Mountains.
What the Closure Means for Colorado's Forests
Commercial sawmills like Montrose Forest Products can support mechanical forest thinning and fuel-load reduction in Colorado. Federal and state agencies also carry out fuels-reduction activities.
Per the Denver Post, the mill's closure will impact the management and health of surrounding forests. The paper also notes the closure may push local forestry and logging expertise to relocate toward the Southeast and Pacific Northwest, regions where mills still have steadier access to timber. Neiman Enterprises said it worked with government officials, nonprofit organizations, and conservation groups as it tried to keep the Montrose mill open, but with the timber supply set to run out within weeks, the company says it is still weighing what, if anything, comes next.
