For decades, Butte Falls was all about the mill. Much of the town's population worked there, and trees logged from the surrounding forests got sawed into lumber there. Times changed; the timber company switched owners, the mill closed, and suddenly Butte Falls had to change its focus.
Now the town can boast of having purchased the forest surrounding it, now known as the Butte Falls Community Forest. Getting to this point took some help for a town of fewer than 500 people. Mayor Trish Callahan and Forest Commissioner Don Hamann walk us through the steps of envisioning the forest acquisition... and then making it happen.