President’s ‘05 budget includes funding for the project.

Helena, MT - January 30, 2004 - The Nature Conservancy, acting on behalf of the Blackfoot Challenge, closed last Friday on the purchase of 18,400 acres in the Blackfoot River Valley from Plum Creek.

This is the first purchase of the agreement, announced last fall in which the Conservancy and Blackfoot Challenge would acquire 41,588 acres of Plum Creek timberlands over three installments in 2004.

The Conservancy will hold the lands temporarily while the Blackfoot Challenge, a local landowner group, works out a community-based plan for the re-sale of these lands to public and private buyers with safeguards to protect conservation and community values. The plan will be based on public input from meetings held throughout the past year in all the of the Valley’s communities as well as local work groups with residents from each of these areas.

“What we have heard at public meetings is that local residents want to see these lands managed in a way that maintains the valley’s tradition of ranching, forestry, wildlife and public access,” says Jim Stone, chairman of the Blackfoot Challenge and Blackfoot Valley rancher.
This first phase involves lands in the Ovando area, including Ovando Mountain, Monture Creek West, Bear Creek, Tupper Lakes and Marcum Mountain, all on the north side of Highway 200.

While the plan for re-sale of these lands is not final, public participation in the planning has been “tremendous,” says Stone. About 70 Ovando area residents turned out last week at a public meeting, the third in that community over the past two years.

There is a desire for continued public access to these lands, “so we’re looking to sell some of these lands to public agencies,” says Stone.
Discussions are underway with the Bureau of Land Management and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation as possible buyers for the first-round lands, since these agencies now own adjacent lands.

Some lands will also be sold to private buyers with conservation restrictions.

Also, a plan is being discussed for a community-managed conservation area on the lower slopes of Ovando Mountain, if private funds can be raised by the Conservancy and Blackfoot Challenge. This area is very important to the Blackfoot Valley community and all Montanans, says Stone. “The input we’ve received is that people would like to see this area managed for conservation of wildlife habitat, sustainable forestry, grazing and public recreational access.”

“This project is a great example of extraordinary local leadership in conserving the unique natural and cultural values that make the Blackfoot Valley so special,” says Jamie Williams, the Conservancy’s Montana state director. “We are honored to be working with the Blackfoot Challenge and appreciate the way in which Plum Creek has worked to accommodate such a strong local vision for these lands.”

The next scheduled sale is expected to close in mid-May, and will include the purchase of Plum Creek parcels within the Blackfoot Clearwater Wildlife Management Area. The Bush administration announced today that its Fiscal Year ’05 budget includes $3.3 million in Forest Legacy program funding for the purchase and consolidation of the game range under Montana fish, Wildlife and Parks.

“It’s gratifying to have the strong support of Montana’s congressional delegation as well as local citizens and public officials all working together on this exciting project,” adds Stone.

If all goes well with the sale and disposition of the 41,000 initial acres, the Conservancy could exercise option to purchase another 46,640 acres in the future.

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The Blackfoot Challenge, comprised of local landowners, federal and state land managers, local government officials and corporate landowners, has been working in the Blackfoot Valley for 10 years to coordinate conservation efforts in the watershed.

The Nature Conservancy is a nonprofit conservation organization that conserves critical habitats for plants, animals and natural communities. Since 1979, the Conservancy’s Montana chapter, based in Helena and with six community-based programs around the state, has worked with landowners to protect over 441,687 acres of land in Montana.