Forest Business Loan Fund

The Forest Business Loan Fund provides community-based financial lending capital to support forest and wood products businesses and compliments traditional grant programs.

Loan Fund Now Available to Forest Product Businesses

Program Overview

The Forest Business Loan Fund (FBLF), established by Colorado House Bill 09-1199 (HB-1199), provides lending capital to businesses that "harvest, remove, use, and market beetle-killed and other timber taken from private, federal, state, county, or municipal forestlands as part of wildfire risk reduction or fuels mitigation treatment." The purpose of the FBLF is to help retain forest-based businesses, maintain and/or increase local jobs, and contribute to the stability of local economies.

The Colorado State Forest Service is working with two Business Loan Fund organizations to implement the program in a 15-county area, which consists of the Northwest Loan Fund (Region 12) and the Upper Arkansas Area Development Corporation (Region 13).

Eligible Applicants

  1. A business must be for profit. State and local governments as well as community and non-profit organizations are not eligible.
  2. A business must have a physical address within the jurisdiction of the Northwest Loan Fund (Region 12) or the Upper Arkansas Area Development Corporation (Region 13). Lending capital will be available in each region.
  3. A business must "harvest, remove, use, and market beetle-killed and other timber taken from private, federal, state, county, or municipal forestlands as part of wildfire risk reduction or fuels mitigation treatment."
Business Loan Fund Region Eligible Counties
Region 12 Moffat, Routt, Jackson, Rio Blanco, Garfield, Grand, Eagle, Summit and Pitkin
Region 13 Chaffee, Custer, Fremont, Lake, Park and Teller

Forest Business Loan Fund Program Map Regions 12 and 13. Click on map for full-size version (1.6 MB PDF).

*Business Loan Funds are available to eligible forest products businesses in counties not covered by our area of eligibility. If your business is not located in region 12 or 13, you may still be eligible to apply for other forest products technical or business assistance. For more information, please contact: Tim Reader (970) 247-5250.

The Application Process

  1. Download and complete the Business Loan Fund Application Proposal form (164 KB PDF). Please submit the application electronically. If you have problems, please email us for assistance.
  2. Participate in a one-on-one site visit with Colorado Wood Utilization and Marketing Program staff to review applicant's technical, financial and marketing merit.
  3. Complete the appropriate Business Loan Fund organization's application materials, depending on business location.

Successful Candidates Should Demonstrate:

  1. Ability to meet the legislative intent
  2. Technical and financial merit
  3. Business operational history
  4. Ability to retain or create jobs
  5. Rural community economic stability

Contact Information

Tim Reader
Utilization & Marketing Forester
(970) 247-5250
treader@lamar.colostate.edu