Open house planned for Stoltze conservation plan

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks will hold an open house in Columbia Falls to take preliminary public input on two proposed conservation easement projects on lands owned by the F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Co.

The open house will take place at the Columbia Falls Fire Hall, 624 First Avenue West, on Tuesday, April 28, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Personnel from FWP, Stoltze and The Trust for Public Land will be on hand to discuss the proposed projects, answer questions and gather issues, concerns or ideas raised by the public, adjoining landowners, and any other interested people. Input will be used for a draft environmental analysis document on the proposed project.

One conservation easement would include about 3,020 acres in the Haskill Creek watershed and would be co-held by the city of Whitefish and FWP. The second would include about 7,150 acres along Trumbull Creek to be held by FWP.

The two conservation easements would be purchased by The Trust for Public Land and conveyed to FWP. Funding would come from the city of Whitefish, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Habitat Conservation Plan Program, and the Forest Service Forest Legacy Program.

A preliminary estimated value for the two easements is about $33 million. Stoltze has agreed to donate a portion of the conservation easement value as match to these grants.

The proposed easements would help maintain current land uses on these private lands by restricting development and other activities not compatible with continued forest management as a way to sustain existing fish and wildlife values on the properties. The easements would also guarantee public access to these lands into perpetuity and allow for separate agreements to develop recreational trails.

FWP and Stoltze would also develop a management plan to clarify how land management and public recreation activities would continue to take place in a manner that ensures the overall fish and wildlife habitat values are maintained.

The proposed conservation easements and management plan would be similar to other forest conservation projects completed by FWP in the Thompson, Fisher, Swan River, Kootenai and Lake Creek valleys.