Land Board approves 33,000-acre conservation easement in northwest Montana

A proposal to put nearly 33,000 acres of working forestland in northwest Montana into a conservation easement has cleared its last major hurdle.

In a 3-1 vote on Monday, the Montana Land Board adopted language amending an agreement between timber company Green Diamond and Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks that closes the book on a conservation project that took four years and nearly $40 million to finalize.

The Montana Great Outdoors Conservation Easement is located between Kalispell and Libby and encompasses parts of the Salish and Cabinet mountains. The roughly 33,000 acres of land will be protected from development to support wildlife habitat and “key landscape connectivity,” according to FWP.

An FWP memo on the project says the easement also provides “permanent free public recreation access” to the enrolled lands while sustaining their use as a working forest.

The U.S. Forest Service’s Montana Forest Legacy Program is putting $20 million toward the easement. Habitat Montana, a fund administered by FWP, is contributing $1.5 million, and the Trust for Public Lands coordinated another $4.2 million of financial support for the project. Finally, Green Diamond is donating about $14 million of the land’s value.

The easement is perpetual, meaning the terms of the agreement will remain in effect indefinitely, even if Green Diamond later sells the land.

In addition to supporting long-term timber harvest, the easement will confer tax benefits to Green Diamond, which owns and manages working forests in nine states throughout the southern and western U.S. According to a FAQ on the easement, Green Diamond will continue to pay local property taxes in Lincoln, Sanders and Flathead counties once the easement is recorded.

The easement faced a tumultuous path to adoption. When the Land Board first voted on it in October, WRH Nevada Properties, which owns the mineral estate beneath approximately half of the 33,000 acres, argued that the easement jeopardized its ability to develop the subsurface mineral estate.

Peter Scott, an attorney representing WRH and Citizens for Balanced Use, argued before the Land Board on Oct. 21 that the board would be ill-advised to authorize the easement while a lawsuit over it is pending, and given that ground-disturbing activities are “not compatible” with the Montana Forest Legacy Program’s purpose.

“The folks that fund mineral exploration are not looking for conservation easements as part of their program,” Scott said. “In fact, they’re leaving and taking their mineral exploration money elsewhere. From their standpoint, Montana is not open for business in the context of mineral exploration.”

To help alleviate that concern, the board voted in October to draft language recognizing its intention to protect the mineral rights holders’ ability to access and develop their mineral rights within the easement’s bounds.

The board’s 3-1 vote effectively alters the easement to read that the mineral rights holders “shall not be infringed upon.” The mineral rights holder will retain the ability to “enter and use the [conserved land] for exploration, recovery and development of the minerals consistent with state law,” per the language adopted by the board.

State Superintendent and Land Board member Elsie Arntzen opposed a final vote on the easement, arguing that more discussion is needed and indicating that the state Legislature, which is set to gavel in for its biennial session next month, may be inclined to weigh in. She sought to postpone final action until at least the spring, a delay Gov. Greg Gianforte did not support for fear it would compromise the Forest Service’s $20 million contribution to the easement.

“The staff worked with all of the concerned parties to get language that was agreeable. For us to make additional changes here, without consultation with all of the parties, would put us in a difficult position,” Gianforte said, adding that Arntzen had effectively missed her window to oppose the easement writ large.

“At this point, the easement has been approved, subject to this language,” Gianforte continued. “I feel a strong compunction to honor the local consensus which has been built around this, which I think is reflected in this modified language.”

Arntzen also attempted to issue a “no” vote by proxy for Montana Attorney General and Land Board member Austin Knudsen. Gianforte, who chairs the Land Board, said only members who are actively present can vote.

Gianforte also struck down an amendment offered by Secretary of State and Land Board member Christi Jacobsen to make the easement subject to a 99-year term rather than perpetual.

The easement “has been granted, has been finalized,” Gianforte said. “So I would rule your amendment out of order.”

A variety of conservation and forestry-oriented organizations support the easement, arguing that it contributes to conservation and recreational objectives, and supports local economies reliant on forestry by facilitating access to a long-term timber supply. Those groups include Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Montana Wildlife Federation, Trust for Public Land, Montana Wood Products Association, Montana Logging Association, Stimson Lumber and FH Stoltze Land & Lumber. 

A trio of current and former elected officials opposed the easement in a letter to the Land Board, arguing that more due diligence should have been done to assess the prevalence of subsurface minerals and communicate with WRH about the project. A letter signed by Rep. Steve Gunderson, R-Libby; Sen. Dan Bartel, R-Lewistown; and Kerry White, a former state representative from Bozeman who now leads Citizens for Balanced Use, a nearly 20-year-old nonprofit that calls for more motorized recreation and resource development on public land.

The second stage of the Montana Great Outdoors Conservation Easement is still in development. It’s estimated to top 52,000 acres to the west and south of the Lost Trail National Wildlife Refuge.

Amanda Eggert is an environmental reporter for the Montana Free Press, a nonprofit newsroom.