Plum Creek takes right approach

Inter Lake editorial

It's reassuring to hear from Plum Creek Timber Co. brass that the company is committed to Montana "long term," even as it prepares to hand off nearly a third of its land in the state.

Rick Holley, president and chief executive officer, made a convincing case to the Inter Lake editorial board that there are no plans to gradually "cut and run" from Montana. It's not difficult to imagine that happening, especially after Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., announced the Montana Legacy Project - which will involve three transactions over the next three years with Plum Creek selling 320,000 acres. The land will ultimately go into the ownership of the state, the U.S. Forest Service and private organizations such as Timber Investment Management Organizations. Although the resold land will include conservation easements, a main purpose of the deal is to maintain public access and timber management on the lands that are sold.

Holley stressed that Plum Creek would not abandon manufacturing operations in Western Montana that have absorbed more than $150 million in improvements over the last decade. And he expressed confidence that those facilities will have a long-term wood supply partly because of "fiber supply agreements" that will guarantee a timber flow from lands that are sold as part of the Montana Legacy Project.

As a result of criticism of the company's private negotiations over road cost-share agreements with the U.S. Forest Service, Holley said the company is making a concerted effort to be more transparent, more open about the company's operations. Again, Holley seemed sincere. And he followed up as news broke this week that the Government Accountability Office is conducting a probe into those negotiations, pledging to cooperate with the GAO.

As we've said before, many questions remain about the Montana Legacy Project transactions. Most important is the question of how much land will ultimately go to the U.S. Forest Service and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

But we still believe that the long-term prospects of the Montana Legacy Project are promising. Some people may grumble about the loss of tax revenue as the company's lands are converted to public ownership, but retaining public access to those lands will be a valuable benefit for perpetuity. Plum Creek has been a friend of sports-minded Montanans for decades, and there is no reason to expect that to change.