Sunday, December 20, 2009

The Nature Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land to Purchase 320,000 Acres of Plum Creek Forestland in Landmark Agreement

Purchase of Plum Creek Land in Montana Will Protect Working Forests, Promote Public Access, Protect Wildlife Habitat and Continue Sustainable Forestry This activity is a once-in-a lifetime befalling to assure these acreage for our families and approaching generations It will accumulate jobs in Montana, advice advance our communities and our alive forests, and bottle accessible acceptance for hunting and fishing. This will be the a lot of cogent acreage attention activity in the state's history, by far, and I'm appreciative to be allotment of it. This is a battleground attention activity that will account the ambiance and advice to advance able bounded communities We are admiring that we were able to accede on agreement that will assure some of the nation’s a lot of important agrarian areas. Plum Creek has a able history of attention and is admiring to accomplice in the auction of this important acreage to axle the accessible absorption in its ecological, recreational and balk assembly values With this sale, we are appreciative that the aggregation has placed added than 860,000 acreage of acreage in the country, including added than 600,000 acreage in Montana, into abiding conservation. We are beholden for how harder Senator Baucus formed to actualize this new allotment apparatus which will accredit the aegis of acreage and livelihoods We achievement the Forestry Bonds will serve as a archetypal for added agnate places that are experiencing this trend in acreage buying conversion. This is actually a now or never opportunity Prices for these acreage will abide to go up, so it is abundant that this acceding has been reached. I anticipate our kids and grandkids will say ‘we’re abiding animated they fabricated this happen.’

Kalispell, MT (Vocus/PRWEB ) June 30, 2008 -- Today, The Nature Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land appear they accept accomplished acceding to acquirement about 320,000 acreage of western Montana forestland from Plum Creek Timber Company (NYSE:PCL) for $510 million.

The Nature Conservancy Logo

The acquirement is allotment of an accomplishment to accumulate these forests in advantageous balk administration and assure the area’s apple-pie baptize and abounding angle and wildlife habitat, while announcement connected accessible acceptance to these acreage for fishing, hiking, hunting and added recreational pursuits.

"This activity is a once-in-a lifetime befalling to assure these acreage for our families and approaching generations," said U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), who helped facilitate the agreement. "It will accumulate jobs in Montana, advice advance our communities and our alive forests, and bottle accessible acceptance for hunting and fishing. This will be the a lot of cogent acreage attention activity in the state's history, by far, and I'm appreciative to be allotment of it."

The acreage in the agreement, which cover allotment of the Swan Valley and areas surrounding Missoula, are amid in the affection of the "Crown of the Continent," one of the a lot of ecologically assorted and complete biological systems actual in the United States.

“This is a battleground attention activity that will account the ambiance and advice to advance able bounded communities,” said Kat Imhoff, accompaniment administrator of The Nature Conservancy in Montana. “We are admiring that we were able to accede on agreement that will assure some of the nation’s a lot of important agrarian areas.”

An important ambition of the acceding is the connected abutment of bounded balk economies. Though abounding factors affect the balk industry in western Montana, the attention of these acreage for backwoods uses will accord to adherence of the acreage abject and its backwoods productivity. A action of the acceding provides for connected balk agriculture on some of these acreage to advice accumulation Plum Creek mills with copse cilia for up to 15 years. This agriculture will be third-party certified as acceptable forestry.

The acreage to be purchased action abode for absolute big bold animals, grizzly bears, lynx, wolverine, balderdash trout and abundant added wildlife. These acreage are aswell some of the a lot of accepted amusement areas in the western United States.

"Plum Creek has a able history of attention and is admiring to accomplice in the auction of this important acreage to axle the accessible absorption in its ecological, recreational and balk assembly values," said Rick Holley, admiral and arch controlling administrator for Plum Creek. "With this sale, we are appreciative that the aggregation has placed added than 860,000 acreage of acreage in the country, including added than 600,000 acreage in Montana, into abiding conservation."

Funding for the $510 actor acquirement could appear from several clandestine and accessible sources, including the new Qualified Conservation Forestry Bonds apparatus in the afresh anesthetized Farm Bill. The bonds would armamentarium the acquirement of acreage abutting to Forest Service ownership, acreage that would eventually be conveyed to the Forest Service.

Championed by Senator Baucus, this antecedent of allotment could advice axis the about-face of acceptable timberlands above the United States.

"We are beholden for how harder Senator Baucus formed to actualize this new allotment apparatus which will accredit the aegis of acreage and livelihoods," said Will Rogers, admiral of The Trust for Public Land. "We achievement the Forestry Bonds will serve as a archetypal for added agnate places that are experiencing this trend in acreage buying conversion."

Funding is aswell accepting approved from added sources, including the State of Montana, clandestine philanthropists and investors. The plan is for the purchased acreage to be transferred into a admixture of private, accompaniment and federal ownership. The acreage awash into clandestine buying will be accountable to attention easements that will bind subdivision and home development. A key ambition is the assiduity of accessible acceptance to these acreage for hunting, fishing, camping and recreation, as Plum Creek accustomed during its ownership.

Neither The Trust for Public Land nor The Nature Conservancy affairs to absorb abiding buying of any lands.

The acreage will be acquired by The Trust for Public Land and The Nature Conservancy in three phases. Phase I is accepted to abutting in December 2008, Phase II in December 2009, and Phase III in December 2010. The auction is accountable to the arising of assertive federal rules pertaining to attention bonds and accompanying tax refunds, alternating with added contingencies archetypal in a transaction of this admeasurement and complexity.

"This is actually a now or never opportunity," said Hank Goetz, Blackfoot Valley citizen and acreage administrator for the Blackfoot Challenge. "Prices for these acreage will abide to go up, so it is abundant that this acceding has been reached. I anticipate our kids and grandkids will say ‘we’re abiding animated they fabricated this happen.’"

For added advice about the Montana Legacy Project go to:
www.themontanalegacyproject.org
www.nature.org

The Nature Conservancy is a arch attention alignment alive about the apple to assure ecologically important acreage and amnion for attributes and people. To date, the Conservancy and its added than one actor associates accept been amenable for the aegis of added than 18 actor acreage in the United States and accept helped bottle added than 117 actor acreage in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.

The Trust for Public Land is a arch civic non-profit acreage attention alignment committed to attention acreage for people. TPL believes that abutting humans to the acreage is key to creating adequate communities and a advantageous ambiance for ancestors to come. Since 1972, TPL has formed with accommodating landowners, association groups and accessible ally to assure about 2.3 actor acreage about the country. Visit The Trust for Public Land on the Web at www.tpl.org.

Plum Creek is the better and a lot of geographically assorted clandestine backer in the nation, with about 8 actor acreage of timberlands in above balk bearing regions of the United States and 10 copse articles accomplishment accessories in the Northwest. For added information, appointment www.plumcreek.com.

Contact
Cristina Mestre, cmestre @ tnc.org, (703) 841-8779, The Nature Conservancy
Tana Kappel, tkappel @ tnc.org, (406) 579-3951, The Nature Conservancy-MT
Deb Love, deb.love @ tpl.org, (406) 579-6931, The Trust for Public Land
Kathy Budinick, kathy.budinick @ plumcreek.com, (888) 467-3751, Plum Creek
Barrett Kaiser, Barrett_Kaiser @ baucus.senate.gov, (406) 670-0541, Senator Baucus

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