An exciting partnership has begun to take form for Legacy lands near Bonner and Milltown.

Areas shaded in pink represent lands included in an application to the Natural Resource Damage Program.

Perhaps you had a chance to read about the ambitious acquisition project The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Trust for Public Lands (TPL) have embarked on with Plum Creek Timber Company in the last edition of this newsletter. In an effort known as the Montana Legacy Project, TNC and TPL will purchase approximately 310,000 acres of Plum Creek’s lands in western Montana over the next 2 years in order to preserve these lands for continued timber harvest, grazing, fish and wildlife habitat, and public access - all values that may otherwise have been lost to private development. To date, TNC and TPL have completed their Phase 1 and 2 purchases from Plum Creek, totaling more than 240,000 acres. Phase 1 lands, acquired on December 15, 2008, included all of the lands previously owned by Plum Creek Timber Company in the Bonner and Milltown region.

TNC and TPL have no intent to own these lands long-term, but are hoping that their acquisition will provide both public and private partners an opportunity to acquire portions of this landscape for the long term benefit of human communities and fish and wildlife populations. Both conservation groups are currently hard at work preparing for interim management responsibilities, listening to input from communities, stakeholders, and public agencies, and taking initial steps towards disposition of portions of these lands with Federal, State and other public partners.

That is where the exciting news begins for Clark Fork and Blackfoot River confluence communities. Through a series of discussions with Bonner and Milltown residents at Community Council meetings, the Bonner School District, the Milltown Redevelopment Group, Missoula County, and Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, TNC and TPL identified a potential opportunity to convey portions of these former Plum Creek lands adjacent to or near the proposed “Confluence Park” lands to FWP and the Bonner School District. (These lands are shown on the map, below). In fact, at this writing, this partnership is submitting a grant proposal to the State’s Natural Resource Damage Program (NRDP) requesting funds to assist with this land acquisition. If successful, the NRDP grant would enable public ownership of these lands so that they can be accessed by the public for a variety of traditional recreational activities, including hiking, biking, fishing, sledding and hunting.

Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks would own and manage the lands that are immediately adjacent to the proposed Confluence Park. Demonstrating a strong show of commitment to their community, the Bonner School District has approved plans to own the parcel immediately behind the school and the town of Bonner, which includes the “B Hill.” All of these lands may be used to expand currently proposed public trails and all would be open to the general public. For the Bonner School, this may be the beginning of an exciting opportunity to more actively use B Hill as an outdoor classroom and to engage in innovative partnerships with local foresters and other experts to manage this forested property.

So stay tuned in the coming months as these exciting new efforts unfold. For more information on the Montana Legacy Project, you can contact Chris Bryant @ (406) 543-6681, (406) 214-6437(c), This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . For more information on the ongoing confluence park planning effort, you can contact Mike Kustudia, 541-8099 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Lee Bastian FWP, 542-5500 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it