Driving along Montana 135 just outside St. Regis, it’s hard to miss the towering stacks of bundled posts and poles, and the large building at Big Sky Forest Products. 

The yard is filled with product ready for shipment as the agricultural season begins. 

“We actually ship all the way to the East Coast,” said owner Gary Suppiger.

Suppiger has been producing posts and rails in St. Regis since 1996. A trained forester, he studied in North Carolina before moving to Montana in 1978. He worked for the U.S. Forest Service in Montana and North Idaho, and later for a lumber manufacturer, but eventually decided he wanted to work for himself. Unable to afford a sawmill at the time, Suppiger purchased a small post-and-pole operation in 1985. He still owns and operates that facility today. 

Much of the St. Regis operation, Suppiger said, was designed and developed by General Manager Steve Freeman, who has worked at the facility for more than 30 years. 

“Over 90% of this operation has been Steve’s design, manufacturing and guidance,” Suppiger said.

Freeman and Office Manager Liz Thompson help oversee the day-to-day operation. Thompson, who grew up in the log-home industry, has worked at the mill for eight years. The company currently employs 10 workers, but she is in the process of hiring four more employees as part of an expansion project. 

“We want to be vertically integrated,” Suppiger said. “The raw material is here in western Montana. Loggers bring it to us, we produce it, we treat it, we transport it and we sell it. It’s one stop for our customers, from stumps to orchards.”

Mineral County Resource Officer Willy Peck said the business continues the property’s long history in the timber industry. 

“Gary’s purchase continued the long traditional use of the property by the forest products industry, providing year-round jobs and contributing to community stability in Mineral County,” Peck said. 

The major part of the company’s expansion is a new wood-treating facility. Thompson explained that approximately three-quarters of a flatbed semi-truck load of logs can fit into the retort during each treatment cycle. The cycle typically takes one to two hours.

The retort is a pressure-treatment tank used for preserving wood and is 50 feet long and 9 feet in diameter. During the process, wood is loaded on a trolley that rolls into the sealed chamber. The tank fills with a green chemical solution and pressure is applied until sensors indicate the wood has the proper amount of preservative. 

“The trolley goes in, the doors shut and the tank fills with the treating solution,” Thompson explained. “Pressure is applied until the sensors show enough has been absorbed. Then the liquid is pumped back out, a vacuum is applied to remove the excess, and the trolley comes back out for unloading.” 

The treatment uses chromated copper arsenate, commonly known as CCA, a wood preservative that protects lumber from insects and microbial decay. The process leaves treated wood with a greenish tint commonly seen in outdoor construction materials. After each cycle, the remaining solution is filtered and returned to a storage tank. Additional chemicals are added to restore the correct concentration before the next load is treated.

Most of the lumber treated at the facility is intended for outdoor agricultural use. The company eventually plans on expanding into residential products, offering a brown-treated wood suitable for home decks and other projects, opening an entirely new customer base. 

The new treatment building itself has an unusual history. Suppiger purchased the structure during the auction of the closed Pyramid Lumber mill in Seeley Lake in 2024. The building, measuring 100 feet by 200 feet with a 25-foot peak, was dismantled and transported to St. Regis.

“The only thing we moved was the skeleton; the reddish-brown steel frame,” Suppiger said. “They didn’t have it insulated, so we bought all new roofing and siding. We’re insulating it because we plan to heat the building.” 

Big Sky Forest Products currently ships all of its products to Idaho for treatment, paying roughly $500 per load each way. 

“At $1,000 per load, I did the math,” Suppiger said. “Not only does this save money, it allows us to give our customers better service. We’re not at the mercy of someone else’s schedule.”

Suppiger also operates another plant in Priest River, Idaho. That facility produces similar round-wood products including fencing, agricultural trellises, nursery stakes and hop poles. The company’s raw material comes from a variety of sources, though about 95% of the timber used in Montana comes from federal lands, either directly through the Forest Service or through the Good Neighbor Authority program.

“A big part of our market is in central Washington for orchards, vineyards and hop yards,” Suppiger said. “We’ll be taking finished product to Yakima, Wenatchee and the Tri-Cities. On the way back, we’ll stop at my mill in North Idaho and bring whitewood here to be treated.” 

Big Sky Forest Products operates under the umbrella of Panhandle Forest Products in Priest River. Products from the Idaho mill will be transported to St. Regis for treatment before being shipped to markets across the West, and sometimes as far as the East Coast.

“The biggest thing for the Forest Service in western Montana is removing small-diameter timber. That reduces forest fuels, provides usable logs for businesses like mine, creates work for loggers and helps reduce fire danger,” he said. “With the history of catastrophic wildfires in western Montana, the Forest Service is really trying to reduce those risks. It’s good for the people, good for business, good for wildlife and fisheries. It’s a win-win.” 

Suppiger credits local and state support for helping make the project possible. 

“Big Sky Post and Pole is the largest forest products manufacturer left in Mineral County,” he said. “I’m very grateful to the Forest Service for providing a large portion of the funding and to Willy for his positive attitude helping us navigate the process to get here.” 

Suppiger praised Gov. Greg Gianforte's use of the Good Neighbor Authority, with the state assuming management of large swaths of Forest Service grounds.

    Gary Suppiger, owner of Panhandle Forest Products which includes Big Sky Forest Products facility in St. Regis, stands in front of bundled furniture quality lumber ready for shipment. (Monte Turner/Mineral Independent)