Trumbull Creek land deal benefits from LWCF passage

A large land conservation deal northwest of Columbia Falls will benefit from passage of the Land, Water and Conservation Fund.

The fund uses off shore oil and gas lease revenue for conservation projects across the U.S. Congress extended the measure for three years when it passed a massive budget bill just before the holidays. Nationwide, Congress appropriated about $450 million to the fund.

Montana’s largest LWCF project this year is the Trumbull Creek conservation easement with F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co. The Trumbull Creek easement is a $9.5 million deal, with $6.5 million from the Forest Legacy program, $2 million from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Habitat Conservation Plan program and $1 million from private donations.

The Trumbull easement compliments a 3,000-acre easement in the adjacent Haskill Basin, also on Stoltze Land. That easement was approved by the state Land Board last month, but still needs final approval by the City of Whitefish.

Stoltze is also selling the easement at 75 percent of its appraised value, a sizable discount.

The Forest Legacy program is funded under the LWCF. The deal would allow Stoltze to continue to manage the forest and harvest trees, while preserving about 7,150 acres of land from subdivision or development. 

As Flathead County’s population continues to rise, the wooded property, with expansive views in some locations, is considered prime real estate.

Dick Dolan, Northern Rockies Director for the Trust for Public Lands, which is helping raise the private donation portion of the Trumbull easement, said last week he was confident the funding could be raised. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is administering the easement.

The conservation community was pleased that the LWCF was funded for another year, but would have liked to see it fully funded, which would have been about $900 million annually, Dolan noted.

“It was limited victory,” Dolan said.

The Trust for Public Lands is still working on another large easement to protect more than 15,000 acres of land north of Whitefish Lake owned by Plum Creek. That deal would also tap into LWCF monies, in a blend of land purchases and conservation easments. That’s slated for next year, pending funding of the LWCF. While Congress authorized the LWCF for three years, it only funded it for fiscal year 2016. Further funding is up to Congress, but all of Montana’s congressional delegation support longterm passage of the LWCF.

Under the proposed agreement, The Trust for Public Land will have an option to purchase 1,920 acres and establish a conservation easement on the remaining 13,414 acres, which Plum Creek will continue to own and manage as a working forest. The purchased lands will eventually be transferred into public ownership or to a conservation buyer.

Since it was first announced, Weyerhaeuser has taken over Plum Creek, but Weyerhaeuser has told the Trust it will honor previous contracts held by Plum Creek.

If the deal comes to fruition, it would likely be completed in 2017 and 2018.