Plum Creek land access an open question
Sam Wilson | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 years, 7 months AGO
As the general rifle season wraps up this weekend in Northwest Montana, it could be the last time deer and elk hunters get free access to nearly 600,000 acres of private land in the region.
Officials with Plum Creek Timber Co. and Weyerhaeuser Co. announced plans to merge earlier this month, but have kept quiet on whether they will continue Plum Creek’s longstanding open access policy on the majority of its land.
Tom Ray, Plum Creek’s vice president of northwest resources and manufacturing, said the merger to create the nation’s largest timber company could become official as early as March 2016.
“We’re still operating as two separate entities and it’s just premature at this point to speculate about any future operating decisions,” he said.
Those decisions could have a massive impact on many hunters and other recreationists in the region.
While Plum Creek has historically allowed public access and free recreation on its 770,000 acres of public land in Montana, Weyerhaeuser’s policy is to charge the public for access. According to its website, the company charges up to $550 per month for motorized access, with cheaper rates for non-motorized access.
“It would significantly change the opportunities that are available up here,” said Alan Wood, the regional resource conservation manager for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. “Most of Plum Creek’s land is up here in Northwest Montana. You just look at a map between Kalispell and Libby, and they’re not even just a major landowner, they’re the dominant landowner.”
Based on use studies from several years ago, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks estimates that those lands attract 70,000 to 80,000 hunter-days each year, not including fishing, hiking, camping and other public uses.
And according to regional wildlife manager Neil Anderson, more than half of the game animals harvested west of Kalispell have come from Plum Creek or Stoltze Land & Lumber Co. land. Those areas have also been some of the most productive, and this year the U.S. 2 and Thompson Falls game checks have accounted for more than half of all deer harvest and more than two-thirds of all elk harvest reported in the region.
Regardless of when or whether the companies finalize their merger next year, the public will still be able to hunt on Plum Creek land through the end of the spring turkey hunt, when the annual block management agreement with the state is set to expire.
Public access to 142,000 acres of Plum Creek land in the Thompson-Fisher area north of Thompson Falls isn’t going to change. Wood said a conservation easement on the land, obtained piecemeal between 2000 and 2004, will continue to provide hunters and others with free recreation opportunities.
Montana’s block management plan compensates private landowners for opening their property up to public hunting and fishing access.
Given the scale of Plum Creek’s holdings in the state, however, the state can’t afford to give the company money for allowing access. Instead, it provides the company with a law enforcement presence on its land, checking licenses and discouraging illegal activity.
Lee Anderson, the Fish, Wildlife and Parks warden captain for Northwest Montana, said the agency doesn’t track the specific amount spent patrolling Plum Creek land, but estimates the total expense at between $75,000 and $100,000 each year.
Ray said that the arrangement has been worthwhile for Plum Creek.
“It’s important that we have Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ presence [and] the wardens’ presence to patrol the land,” Ray said. “They watch our gates and make sure that everyone is there in a legal and safe manner.”
Despite their involvement, however, officials with the state resource agency are also in the dark as far as Weyerhaeuser’s plans are concerned. Last week, Gov. Steve Bullock and Sen. Jon Tester sent letters to Weyerhaeuser stressing Plum Creek’s importance to the region and urging the new company to continue its policies.
The access policy could also jeopardize an ambitious trail system that has been in the works for nearly 15 years.
Foy’s to Blacktail Trails is a nonprofit organization created in 2005 to link trail systems between Herron Park and Blacktail Mountain, an idea that started gaining traction in 2001.
Since it was formed, the group has vastly expanded the park from the 120 acres of land acquired by Flathead County in 1977 to its current size of 440 acres.
Use has grown as well, and Herron Park annually hosts more people than any other county park aside from Volunteer Park in Lakeside. Foy’s to Blacktail has built a network of 15 miles of trails supporting an estimated average of 100 hikers, runners, equestrians and mountain bikers each day.
But the goal of the outdoors group is still unrealized.
“We’ve made some progress talking to private landowners in the corridor,” Cliff Kipp, the organization’s chairman said Tuesday.
The “missing link,” as he calls it, stretches for about eight miles between the two trail systems and crosses through a checkerboard of private parcels.
While most of the private land is owned by Plum Creek and Stoltze, he said several smaller, individual landowners must agree to the easements before a deal can be reached with Plum Creek.
“They’re listening, and they’re pretty adamant that we get the other private landowners on board before they sign anything,” Kipp said. “They want to be good neighbors. They don’t want to sign up for a trail that’s going to lead to their property.”
He said the organization has reached out to all of the landowners, but as of yet no deals have been finalized. Kipp said his organization is optimistic about the new timberland owner but is aware of the uncertainty it adds to their plan.
And while Plum Creek has always been receptive to the idea, Kipp said he hasn’t spoken with Weyerhaeuser about it and would likely wait until the merger becomes official next year before reaching out.
If completed, the trail corridor would extend from the southern end of Herron Park to Emmons Saddle, at the upper end of Patrick Creek Road, then heading into U.S. Forest Service land surrounding Blacktail Mountain.
Aside from providing public access, Plum Creek also provides 750 Flathead Valley residents with employment. While Plum Creek recently announced a $10 million investment in manufacturing facilities throughout the Northwest, both companies been equally quiet about the future of the area’s two sawmills and three manufacturing plants that will be owned by Weyerhaeuser.
For now, those affected will keep a close watch as the merger approaches next year.
“Obviously everybody is watching to see what happens,” Wood said. “But they’re private lands, and along with that comes private property rights.”
Multiple phone calls to Weyerhaeuser for this story were not returned.
Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dialyinterlake.com.
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