The Montana Land Board recently approved an estimated $312,007 timber sale by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, located about 9 miles southeast of Swan Lake. 

The Twister Loop Timber Sale, approved Dec. 15, covers 533 acres and has an estimated harvest volume of 19,029 tons of sawlogs, according to the Board of Land Commissioners agenda. The sale will consist of selected individual trees, shelterwood, old-growth maintenance, and overstory removal.  

According to the agenda, the sale is designed to reduce insect and disease issues and the amount of burnable forest material, promoting forest health. The agenda stated that the minimum bid is $18.03 per ton for non-Ponderosa Pine sawlogs and $5.77 per ton for Ponderosa Pine sawlogs.  

The sale is covered under the Squeezer Meadow Environmental Impact Statement. Twenty public comments were received during the scoping of the Squeezer Meadow EIS, according to the agenda. Nine comments supported the project, six were neutral, and five were opposed.  

Those who commented expressed concern about wildlife, silviculture, hydrology and soils, roads and traffic, fisheries, climate change, visual aesthetics, air quality, cultural resources, and economics. According to the agenda, all comments and concerns were considered and addressed.  

This revenue will be given to the Common Schools Trust, with approximately $89,000 in forest improvement fees. These fees help fund management to improve forest health and productivity with activities such as tree planting, herbicide application and thinning. DNRC manages state trust lands and uses the revenue to invest in Montana’s public education. Over the last four years, they have invested $337 million into public schools, according to a State of Montana Newsroom press release from Dec. 15.  

Revenue is distributed to the Office of Public Instruction for use by school districts statewide to enhance educational opportunities. These funds help support technology modernization, school safety upgrades, facility maintenance, classroom resources, and other district-identified priorities that strengthen student learning environments, according to the press release.  

“Thanks to responsible stewardship of state trust lands by the Montana Land Board and DNRC, Montana’s schools can better meet the needs of our students,” Superintendent Susie Hedalen stated in the press release. “We are truly grateful for these partnerships and our shared commitment to Montana’s kids.”  

DNRC oversees more than five million acres of state trust land and generates income through a portfolio that includes agricultural and grazing leases, oil and gas development, forest management, commercial real estate, and recreational use.  

This project, along with oil and gas lease sales and cabin and homesite sales, was approved at the Land Board’s final meeting of 2025. 

“Secretary Jacobsen was proud that her Land Board colleagues unanimously voted in favor of her motion for the project, and she was proud to support the timber and logging industry professionals, as well as Montana schools that will benefit from the generated revenue,” Richie Melby, the communications director for Jacobsen, stated in an email to the Leader.