Close One: MT Hunting, Snowmobiling, Logging Land Almost Disappeared
Monday, July 7, 2008
Blackfoot Valley, MT – Find a favorite camping spot. Scope out hunting grounds. Look for a backcountry horseback riding trail. Montanans are being encouraged to explore 320,000 acres in western Montana that until last week were owned by Plum Creek Timber. Now they will be open to many uses, thanks to in an historic conservation sale.
Denny Iverson, one of those issuing the invitation, is a rancher, logger and hunter in the Blackfoot Valley. He says many people may not be aware of how close they came to losing public access to these lands, had the acreage been bought by resort or residential developers.
"I've logged on these lands, and I've helped gather cattle out of these lands, and I've hunted these lands, and the prospect that they might stay intact is awesome. It's a dream come true."
The Trust for Public Land and The Nature Conservancy purchased the former timber company lands. The two nonprofits plan to re-sell them to public agencies or private buyers after attaching conservation easements and public access requirements for activities such as hunting, logging and recreation. Communities adjacent to the land also will get a say in how it will be used.
According to Iverson, a study once claimed the "best use" of Plum Creek lands was for development. He says other values for the land were completely overlooked, until now.
"The south rim of Potomac here is where the elk calve, and there's probably 200 head of elk that calve on those side hills. That would have been disrupted."
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