New Land Added to Blackfoot River Corridor

Recreational public access and wildlife habitat have been protected on nearly 5,500 acres of former industrial timberland in the Blackfoot Valley. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) transferred the land to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) using an award from the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

 This was the first transfer in TNC's Clearwater-Blackfoot Project in which the organization acquired more than 117,000 acres of large forest land tracts. The aim of the Clearwater-Blackfoot Project is to continue finding permanent conservation solutions on land formerly part of the rapidly changing industrial timber sector.

The property, known as the Belmont Creek Tract, is located just north of the popular Blackfoot River Recreation Corridor, which TNC helped the BLM acquire in 1997. Since that first land transaction, the BLM and TNC have partnered to convert 32,589 acres of former industrial timberland to public (BLM) ownership in the Blackfoot watershed. That has provided permanent public access and the opportunity for future forest management, fisheries restoration and recreational use.

The Blackfoot Challenge has been a key partner in helping TNC reach out to local communities to help plan the transition. Public acquisition of this land has also been a high priority for the local community.

"I've been a longtime proponent of this transaction, says rancher and logger Denny Iverson, who is a member of the Blackfoot Challenge Board. "It adds to that great river corridor and preserves grazing leases that are really important to the community. It ensures that grass will be available to those ranchers well into the future."

 Since TNC began tackling the threat of conversion of private timberlands to backcountry sprawl and ownership fragmentation, it has purchased more than half a million acres of timberland from Plum Creek. 336,894 acres of that land have been transferred to public ownership and 20,102 acres have been sold to private owners with conservation easements that allow for continued traditional uses, protect wildlife habitat and water resources as well as help retain the region's rural character.

 "It's great when we can achieve a win that benefits both people and nature in such a clear way. The local community understands that maintaining the natural integrity of this land – the clean water, spectacular wildlife, and healthy forests – enhances its economy as well as its quality of life," according to Chris Bryant, TNC's Western Montana Land Protection Director.

 This land is critical for the movement of animals such as Canada lynx, wolverine and gray wolf. Its conservation furthers the goals of the community, TNC and the BLM to keep this important region intact and working for both people and wildlife.

 "Once again, The Nature Conservancy has provided an avenue for the BLM to add to its legacy in the Blackfoot River corridor whereby access to public lands and traditional values and uses of the land will be protected for the long term," said Joe Ashor, BLM's Missoula Field Office Manager. "We continue to be committed to working with TNC and our many partners and the public in the management of this landscape and are grateful for the role TNC has played and will continue to play in this vital corner of Montana."

 Although much of the land was industrially logged, the forest is a lesson in resilience and has rebounded well. TNC and its partners may soon be ready for thinning to help reduce the risks of wildfire and encourage growth and resilience of the remaining trees.