Warm Springs Tribes close timber mill after decades of operation


A view of the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon. Mount Jefferson can be seen in the background. Photo by Mat783 via Wikimedia Commons

The Confederated Tribes of Warm Spring Reservation of Oregon has shut down its long-running timber mill.

The Warm Springs Forest Products Industries brought steady employment and revenues to the community for decades. But the company has been experiencing serious financial issues, Spilyay Tymoo, the tribe's newspaper, first reported on Monday.

"It was one of the best high-paying jobs on the reservation. Back in the '70 and '80s this was a really big enterprise and very rich enterprise," former employee Daniel Lawrence told KTVZ.

The company is in debt to the tribe and was asking for another loan of $1 million to recover from a recent shutdown, Spilyay Tymoo reported, The mill also has been unable to pay vendors, The Bend Bulletin reported.

The mill was down to about 85 employees after numerous layoffs, Spilyay Tymoo reported.

Get the Story:
Council weighs options as mill closes (Spilyay Tymoo 4/11)
Warm Springs mill's demise leaves dozens out of work (KTVZ 4/12)
Warm Springs Mill Closes Permanently (KBND 4/12)
Money problems close tribes’ timber company (The Bend Bulletin 4/13)

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Warm Springs company recovers after near shutdown (3/3)

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