MISSOULA — Nearly 18,000 acres in the lower Blackfoot River watershed prized for its habitat and wood products could become publicly owned if the Bureau of Land Management follows through with its planned acquisition.
Missoula County last week signed a letter of support backing the BLM's proposed acquisition of the former private industrial timberland in the Gold and Twin Creek drainages northeast of Missoula.
Chet Crowser, chief lands and communities officer with the county, said that acquiring the parcels would permanently protect public ownership and provide benefits for decades to come.
“These are some of the former commercial timberlands that The Nature Conservancy acquired back around 2015,” he said. “The BLM has been working with the Blackfoot Challenge and other community efforts to identify public acquisition opportunities. This is just the latest in a number of BLM acquisitions in the Blackfoot.”
More than 60% of Missoula County is covered with public lands — lands the county claims sustain local economies through restoration and active management.
But the property also sits in a key location in the Crown of the Continent ecosystem. It connects with other public lands to the south, providing habitat and prized connectivity in an increasingly fractured ecosystem.
“It provides valuable habitat and connectivity for a variety of big game species, large carnivores and nongame wildlife, as well as significant public access opportunities for wildlife viewing and hunting,” the county noted in its letter.
The proposal also comes on the heals of the closure of both Pyramid Mountain Lumber and the Roseburg plant. Both had a heavy impact on the timber industry, and the jobs and forest management they provided.
Crowser said that acquiring the properties would ensure the forested landscapes provide a sustainable wood products supply if the industry were to reemerge.
“This is a 17,000-acre acquisition. There have been a number of environmental assessments the BLM has done to evaluate the accusation process for their work in the Blackfoot over time. This continues to support BLM's acquisition work,” Crowser said
The county also highlighted the landscape's importance to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.
“We acknowledge BLM's recent efforts to engage the Tribes in the management of these lands and uphold the U.S. government's responsibilities under the Hellgate Treaty of 1855, and we strongly support the continuation of this important work,” the county said.
