Zinke Delivers for Seeley Lake, Montana Timber Towns

"Montana town’s economy withers due to lack of affordable housing." That was an ABC News headline from back in 2024.

What was the other underlying message? The need for a sewer system to be able to build the housing. And you need the housing so that you can have working families that power the local lumber mill.  

That was then. Now- Montana's Western District Congressman Ryan Zinke (R-MT01) and the Republican Congressional Delegation are delivering for Seeley Lake and neighboring timber towns.

Now, you'd think that since Seeley Lake is in Missoula County that Missoula County would take care of Seeley Lake, especially given its importance to the Missoula and Western Montana economies. But one of the big complaints is that with Democrats controlling Missoula County now, they don't really look out for the more rural towns in the county.

In one of the latest spending bills, Zinke secured $10,000,000 for the Seeley Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant, along with other Montana projects that were requested. This infrastructure is critical to support housing and therefore timber jobs in Seeley Lake.

Rep. Zinke: “I’ve worked with county commissioners and local leaders for years on these projects, and now we’re finally securing the support they deserve. This bill funds vital projects that Washington often overlooks but are essential to the people who live there. Seeley Lake’s wastewater treatment plant, replacement of the Noxon Bridge, road improvements in Ravalli County, and guardrail installations along the North Fork are prime examples of what Congress should be spending money on. These are good, community driven, shovel ready projects, that come from the ground up, not from bureaucrats who’ve never been to the west. I urge the Senate to act quickly and pass this bill, fully funding the government for fiscal year 2026.”

Senator Tim Sheehy (R-MT) also praised President Trump for signing the package into law which included funding for Seeley Lake and the Noxon Bridge.