Flathead Beacon: Millions in the Balance as Timber Program Expires

A federal law that has in the past decade provided Flathead County with millions of dollars for road department and school funding expired at the end of September, causing concern as the county looks ahead to next year’s budget.

The Secure Rural Schools Act, administered by the U.S. Forest Service, has sent billions of dollars to hundreds of counties in 41 states feeling the sting of declining logging on federal lands. The law was renewed in 2008 and expired this year on Sept. 30.