The Nature Conservancy sells 12,000 acres to U.S. Forest Service

The Nature Conservancy's (TNC) sale of 12,039 acres of former industrial timber land to the U.S. Forest Service will allow for more public access according to a press release. The sold area was part of a 2014 purchase representing the last industrial timber land in the Blackfoot. The land partially covers the Seeley Lake Ranger District as well as the Missoula Ranger District.

The map was previously characterized by a checkerboard-like pattern representing public-private ownership created over a century ago. TNC's Western Montana Land Protection Director Chris Bryant said in a press release th...