Plum Creek real estate revenue detailed

With more than 900,000 acres in seven Western Montana counties, Plum Creek Timber Co. remains the largest private landowner in the state, but over the past three years 310,000 acres have been sold for conservation easements and working forests through the Montana Legacy Project.

During that same time period, Plum Creek sold 13,318 acres of land to various private buyers.

The company wrapped up the final phase of the Legacy Project in December 2010, completing an effort to preserve land for wildlife, recreation and as places to make a living through ranching and sustainable forestry.

Most of the real estate revenue from Plum Creek’s land sales over the last three years is attributed to the Legacy Project, said Jerry Sorensen, senior director of North Land Asset Management for Plum Creek.

Here’s how the numbers break out:

In 2008, Plum Creek’s real estate revenue in Montana was $168 million, of which $150 million was for 129,600 acres sold for the Legacy Project. A total of 6,538 acres were sold to various private buyers.

In 2009, real estate revenue was $256 million, of which $250 million was for 112,000 acres sold for the second phase of the Legacy Project. A total of 4,710 acres were sold to private buyers.

In 2010, real estate revenue was $92 million, of which $89 million was for 69,630 acres sold in the final phase of the Legacy Project. A total of 2,070 acres were sold to private buyers.

The Nature Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land completed the overall $489 million purchase funded primarily through Qualified Forestry Conservation Bonds, a public financing mechanism created in the 2008 Farm Bill largely through the efforts of Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.

Much of the second-phase property already has been turned over to the U.S. Forest Service, Sorensen said. Key properties are in the Swan Valley and Lolo Creek watershed.

Over time, much of the other Legacy Project acreage will go to the state of Montana, with another small allotment planned for the Forest Service, Sorensen said.

Plum Creek historically has made a commitment to preserving land, with more than 613,000 acres in Montana committed to conservation in Montana through land sales, easements and land exchanges since 1989. Companywide, it has committed more than 1.35 million acres to conservation in the United States during the same time period.

Plum Creek owns 6.77 million acres in 21 states. In Montana the company owns 251,000 acres in Flathead County, 281,000 acres in Lincoln, 168,000 acres in Missoula, 159,000 acres in Sanders, 24,000 acres in Lake, 10,000 acres in Mineral and 7,000 acres in Ravalli County.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.