KALISPELL - The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission approved the second phase of a conservation easement that protects nearly 53,000 acres of private timberland between Kalispell and Libby in the Cabinet Mountains back in August.
The Montana Great Outdoors Conservation Easement would total more than 85,000 acres of protected timberland after the first phase was approved last year. That easement now goes in front of the Montana Land Board for a final vote on Oct. 20.
“A lot of those hunting grounds are gone, a lot of those places that people went with their grandfather hunting are no longer available, they’re behind gates, they’re behind homesteads, that won’t happen here if this easement is accepted,” said Green Diamond Resource Company Policy Manager Jason Callahan.
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“We believe it maintains [the] Montana way of life, and I think that’s why we have such strong local support because people see the value of this project,” added Callahan.
The 53,000 acres is the second phase of the proposed Montana Great Outdoors Conservation Easement and is currently owned and operated by Green Diamond Resource Company.
“We plant, grow and harvest trees and start the cycle over again, that’s what we do for 2.2 million acres across eight states,” said Callahan.
Callahan said the conservation easement would keep the land in private ownership for timber production, but also guarantees the land can't be broken off and developed into subdivisions.
“This land will be a working forest for everyone’s lifetime.”
If approved, the proposed easement would protect permanent public recreation access on the land for hiking, hunting and fishing.
Watch previous coverage: FWP approves purchase of 53,000-acre conservation easement in Northwest MT
“We get letters all the time saying that people have been using this property for generations to hunt and fish there, so people are writing in and pretty excited to continue to use that property,” said Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Habitat Conservation biologist Leah Breidinger.
Breidinger said the easement would protect critical wildlife habitat for elk, moose, mule deer, Canada lynx, gray wolf, grizzly and black bear, bull trout and westslope cutthroat.
“They have a long-term vision to manage that property sustainably into the future, and working forests are great wildlife habitat,” said Breidinger.
The appraised value of the easement totals more than $57 million, with funding secured through the U.S. Forest Service's Forest Legacy Program and a $20 million donation from Green Diamond.
“We are a forest management company, we grow and harvest trees, we’re not a real estate company, we don’t have an interest in developing this land, but there is still development value on the land, there’s still development pressure on the land, what the conservation easement lets us do is monetize that and put it back into the forest,” said Callahan.
