RockyDog
Member
I know this will piss some of the usuals off, but several thousand acres of elk and deer range were saved from condo-ville today. You can complain to that evil RMEF and Nature Conservancy.
Blackfoot landowners buy commercial timberland
By SHERRY DEVLIN - Missoulian - 05/19/04
Intent on preserving their ranching heritage and wide open spaces, Blackfoot Valley landowners bought another 19,883 acres of commercial timberland Tuesday.
Brokered by The Nature Conservancy and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the $14.9 million purchase included irreplaceable deer and elk winter range and heavily timbered grizzly bear habitat.
Tuesday's was the second of three purchases planned this year by the Blackfoot Challenge and designed to protect 42,927 acres of Plum Creek Timber Co. land from subdivision and development.
Eventually, the landowner group hopes to buy all of Plum Creek's mid-elevation timberland between Clearwater Junction and Rogers Pass, north and south of Highway 200 — more than 80,000 acres.
‘‘This is the heritage of the Blackfoot Valley,'' said Jim Stone, an Ovando rancher and chairman of the Blackfoot Challenge. ‘‘People want to see these lands managed in a way that maintains the valley's tradition of ranching, forestry, wildlife and public access.''
While their goals are simple, the details of the ranchers' plan are complex.
Acting on behalf of the valley, The Nature Conservancy actually bought the land from Plum Creek and will hold it while residents agree on a resell plan.
Some of the property will go to state and federal land management agencies, assuring public access, habitat protection and some continued timber cutting. Other parcels will be sold to ranchers with adjoining land — as long as the buyers agree to keep the land largely undeveloped.
Always, Stone said, buyers must agree to manage the land ‘‘in a way that supports the community's rural and conservation values.''
Tuesday's deal includes 3,835 acres that will eventually go to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks — and will consolidate ownership of the Blackfoot-Clearwater Wildlife Management Area.
The Nature Conservancy will first sell the acreage to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, which will hold it until FWP receives $3.3 million earmarked for the project in the federal government's 2005 budget.
‘‘Lots of people have worked a long time to see this day,'' said Mike Thompson, a wildlife biologist for Montana FWP. ‘‘It's a great day for the wildlife of Montana.''
More than 1,000 elk spend winters on the Blackfoot-Clearwater game range, Montana's largest state-owned property dedicated for use as wildlife habitat.
Thompson said FWP hopes to have the money needed to buy the land from the Elk Foundation by fall.
Also included in the new purchase are 7,659 acres of grizzly bear habitat along the Continental Divide in the Alice Creek drainage.
Grizzlies and elk pass through the drainage as they travel south out of the Scapegoat and Bob Marshall wilderness areas. Were Alice Creek developed, the animals would be isolated in the wilderness.
Jamie Williams, state director of The Nature Conservancy, said the next round of purchases will include about 4,600 acres in the Marcum Mountain and Nevada Creek areas, and is expected to be complete in mid-August.
Meanwhile, the Blackfoot Challenge will work on the disposition of lands purchased in January and, now, on Tuesday.
Stone said one of the highest priorities is protection of Ovando Mountain, a landmark in the center of the Blackfoot Valley. Already, he said, residents have said they want it set aside as a ‘‘community-managed conservation area.''
The first round of purchases last winter included 9,629 acres on the lower slopes of Ovando Mountain.
‘‘This project has been inspired by some amazing community leaders who have a long history of conservation in the valley,'' said Williams. ‘‘We're honored to support them.''
Added Stone, ‘‘This project is an amazing undertaking for us and our partners, one that is consuming thousands of hours in planning and community meetings. We're pleased at the high level of community involvement.''
Cooperation and neighborliness are also part of the valley's heritage, Stone said, so the Blackfoot Challenge has a strong foundation on which to build.
‘‘Instead of focusing on our own ranch or our own family, we thought it was important to look toward the future as a community and try to create something long-lasting here,'' he said. ‘‘It looks like we may just succeed.''
Blackfoot landowners buy commercial timberland
By SHERRY DEVLIN - Missoulian - 05/19/04
Intent on preserving their ranching heritage and wide open spaces, Blackfoot Valley landowners bought another 19,883 acres of commercial timberland Tuesday.
Brokered by The Nature Conservancy and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the $14.9 million purchase included irreplaceable deer and elk winter range and heavily timbered grizzly bear habitat.
Tuesday's was the second of three purchases planned this year by the Blackfoot Challenge and designed to protect 42,927 acres of Plum Creek Timber Co. land from subdivision and development.
Eventually, the landowner group hopes to buy all of Plum Creek's mid-elevation timberland between Clearwater Junction and Rogers Pass, north and south of Highway 200 — more than 80,000 acres.
‘‘This is the heritage of the Blackfoot Valley,'' said Jim Stone, an Ovando rancher and chairman of the Blackfoot Challenge. ‘‘People want to see these lands managed in a way that maintains the valley's tradition of ranching, forestry, wildlife and public access.''
While their goals are simple, the details of the ranchers' plan are complex.
Acting on behalf of the valley, The Nature Conservancy actually bought the land from Plum Creek and will hold it while residents agree on a resell plan.
Some of the property will go to state and federal land management agencies, assuring public access, habitat protection and some continued timber cutting. Other parcels will be sold to ranchers with adjoining land — as long as the buyers agree to keep the land largely undeveloped.
Always, Stone said, buyers must agree to manage the land ‘‘in a way that supports the community's rural and conservation values.''
Tuesday's deal includes 3,835 acres that will eventually go to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks — and will consolidate ownership of the Blackfoot-Clearwater Wildlife Management Area.
The Nature Conservancy will first sell the acreage to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, which will hold it until FWP receives $3.3 million earmarked for the project in the federal government's 2005 budget.
‘‘Lots of people have worked a long time to see this day,'' said Mike Thompson, a wildlife biologist for Montana FWP. ‘‘It's a great day for the wildlife of Montana.''
More than 1,000 elk spend winters on the Blackfoot-Clearwater game range, Montana's largest state-owned property dedicated for use as wildlife habitat.
Thompson said FWP hopes to have the money needed to buy the land from the Elk Foundation by fall.
Also included in the new purchase are 7,659 acres of grizzly bear habitat along the Continental Divide in the Alice Creek drainage.
Grizzlies and elk pass through the drainage as they travel south out of the Scapegoat and Bob Marshall wilderness areas. Were Alice Creek developed, the animals would be isolated in the wilderness.
Jamie Williams, state director of The Nature Conservancy, said the next round of purchases will include about 4,600 acres in the Marcum Mountain and Nevada Creek areas, and is expected to be complete in mid-August.
Meanwhile, the Blackfoot Challenge will work on the disposition of lands purchased in January and, now, on Tuesday.
Stone said one of the highest priorities is protection of Ovando Mountain, a landmark in the center of the Blackfoot Valley. Already, he said, residents have said they want it set aside as a ‘‘community-managed conservation area.''
The first round of purchases last winter included 9,629 acres on the lower slopes of Ovando Mountain.
‘‘This project has been inspired by some amazing community leaders who have a long history of conservation in the valley,'' said Williams. ‘‘We're honored to support them.''
Added Stone, ‘‘This project is an amazing undertaking for us and our partners, one that is consuming thousands of hours in planning and community meetings. We're pleased at the high level of community involvement.''
Cooperation and neighborliness are also part of the valley's heritage, Stone said, so the Blackfoot Challenge has a strong foundation on which to build.
‘‘Instead of focusing on our own ranch or our own family, we thought it was important to look toward the future as a community and try to create something long-lasting here,'' he said. ‘‘It looks like we may just succeed.''
What has happend is the yahoos from Bozeman are now coming over to the Ennis side to access the The Gallitan side of the Madisons because its closer than going all the way around the Club... consequently they are finding that the hunting is just as good on the Mad. side as the Gall. side and not wasteing their time to get in there anymore. 
