Purchase of Plum Creek Land in Montana Will Protect Working Forests,
Promote Public Access, Protect Wildlife Habitat and Continue Sustainable
Forestry
Today, The Nature Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land announced
they have reached agreement to purchase approximately 320,000 acres of
western Montana forestland from Plum Creek Timber Company (NYSE:PCL) for
$510 million.
The purchase is part of an effort to keep these forests in productive
timber management and protect the area’s clean
water and abundant fish and wildlife habitat, while promoting continued
public access to these lands for fishing, hiking, hunting and other
recreational pursuits.
"This project is a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to protect these lands
for our families and future generations," said U.S. Senator Max Baucus
(D-MT), who helped facilitate the agreement. "It will keep jobs in
Montana, help maintain our communities and our working forests,
and preserve public access for hunting and fishing. This will be the
most significant land conservation project in the state's history, by
far, and I'm proud to be part of it."
The lands in the agreement, which include part of the Swan Valley and
areas surrounding Missoula, are located in the heart of the “Crown
of the Continent,” one of the most
ecologically diverse and intact biological systems remaining in the
United States.
“This is a landmark conservation project that
will benefit the environment and help to maintain strong local
communities,” said Kat Imhoff, state director
of The Nature Conservancy in Montana. “We are
pleased that we were able to agree on terms that will protect some of
the nation’s most important wild areas.”
An important goal of the agreement is the continued support of local
timber economies. Though many factors affect the timber industry in
western Montana, the conservation of these lands for forest uses will
contribute to stability of the land base and its forest productivity. A
condition of the agreement provides for continued timber harvesting on
some of these lands to help supply Plum Creek mills with wood fiber for
up to 15 years. This harvesting will be third-party certified as
sustainable forestry.
The lands to be purchased offer habitat for wide-ranging big game
animals, grizzly bears, lynx, wolverine, bull trout and numerous other
wildlife.
