The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks and Stimson Lumber Company — with key project support from The Trust for Public Land — is proposing a 27,000-acre conservation easement on forestlands held by Stimson through the Phase II Kootenai Forestland Conservation Project near Libby.  

     The proposed project is in FWP’s public review process, with a public hearing  set for Libby the evening of July 14.

     The project would produce many benefits, including sustainable forest management, public access and recreation, wildlife habitat conservation, wood products industry jobs retention and more.

     From the Flathead Beacon article: 

     “Completion of this project would build on the success of the nearby Forest Legacy Program-funded 142,000-acre Thompson-Fisher Conservation Easement, the 28,000-acre Kootenai Valleys Conservation Easement, and the 22,295-acre Kootenai Forestlands Phase I Conservation Easement, which was the first phase of this project,” according to a press release from FWP. “Forest Legacy projects in Montana and Idaho have cumulatively helped to conserve over 300,000 acres of working forestlands that remain in private ownership while securing permanent public access and habitat conservation.”