U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Nevada State Director Alida Ceballos last week announced that Tahoe Forest Products, LLC. will receive $50 million to expand and modernize timber processing capabilities at its 40-acre business in south Carson City.
The investment comes through a partnership between the USDA and MapleMark Bank and will enable the business to access guaranteed loan funds to support domestic timber production, according to a USDA news release.
Work first began in 2022 on the Tahoe Forest Products Saw Mill on Washoe Tribal Land behind the Topsy Lane shopping center. Operations stopped last year for “retooling and upgrading” their operations and machinery.
The operation had come under criticism and petitions were made to have the company stop night time operations that nearby neighbors said caused noise and dust issues. The company vowed to be good neighbors, saying at the time that “we are doing everything we can to mitigate our presence.”
Ceballos said the leadership of Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and President Trump, USDA has partnering with lending institutions to make the investment in new and upgraded timber processing equipment for Tahoe Forest Products, LLC, according to the news release.
“This investment supports sustainable timber harvesting that improves forest health, reduces wildfire risk, and strengthens rural prosperity by creating jobs for hardworking Americans. Nevada is proud to further the Trump-Vance investments into our great state,” said Ceballos.
The investment, funded through USDA’s Timber Production Expansion Guaranteed Loan Program (TPEP), and Business & Industry Guaranteed Loan Program, will assist the business to expand processing capabilities, including kilns, using timber from Nevada and California, a planer mill, and a new saw line, according to the news release.
The expansion will allow Tahoe ForestProducts to shift from raw material production to finished lumber suitable for sale to retail distributors and large-scale construction markets, the release states.
In addition, the business will increase its capacity for lumber production from purely rough lumber to premium lumber by 60,000 thousand board feet. The investment directly aligns with President Trump’s Executive Order on the Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production.
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.
