DNRC Sets the Stage for
Subdivisions on Plum Creek Land

Swan Range © Edith Oberley at Bitterroot and Bergamot.

(September 2008) Two years ago, when the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation asked the State Land Board to adopt a policy on road easements on State school trust lands, Gov. Brian Schweitzer asked a critical question: would the policy encourage owners of timberland to leave it in timber production?

The answer was an unequivocal “yes.” A DNRC spokesperson said: “The real intent here is to try and encourage the lands to be managed for traditional uses.” Unfortunately, that answer was more than just misleading—it was downright wrong. What DNRC did not tell the governor, the other members of the Land Board, or the public, was that adoption of the policy would actually “grease the skids” for Plum Creek Timber Co. to subdivide much of its forestland.

Now it is 2008. For months county governments and the public have been hearing about—and complaining about—secret negotiations between Plum Creek and the U.S. Forest Service regarding Plum Creek’s easements on federal land. The concern is that the Forest Service intends to amend Plum Creek’s easements to allow the company to subdivide its lands for residential development. Residential development in forestland brings increased fire risk, increases the demands on county police and emergency services, and burdens counties with the expenses of maintaining roads. These local concerns were acute enough that U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) called for an investigation of the negotiations by the Government Accountability Office. That investigation is underway.

What the counties and the public did not realize was that Plum Creek had been quietly working toward the same objective with the State of Montana for a number of years. In fact, the process of amending Plum Creek’s State easements started under the Racicot Administration and continued during the Martz years. A common thread through both administrations was DNRC director Bud Clinch. Clinch is a former timber industry lobbyist (as is Mark Rey, who oversees the U.S. Forest Service).

It appears that before Martz left office in January 2005, Clinch had her sign 37 amended easements for Plum Creek that widened the company’s access rights to 60 feet from 40. The reason for making this change was well-stated in a 1999 DNRC document that discussed one of the easements: “If this land were to be developed in any way, county regulations require a 60-foot-wide right-of-way.” In other words, Plum Creek could not develop lands that were accessed by 40-foot-wide State easements, because they were too narrow to build roads to county standards.

But these 37 amended easements needed more than just the governor’s signature. They needed State Land Board approval. So in 2007, the new DNRC director, Mary Sexton, brought them to the Board for approval. She presented the amendments as if they were just correcting a “minor procedural glitch.” Never once was the Board told that the amended easements would allow Plum Creek to change the use of its lands, if it wanted to, from timber production to subdivision development. Sexton also indicated at the time that there were many more easements needing similar changes.

There are myriad potential problems with allowing Plum Creek to develop its land for residential use. Global warming is changing the character of forests throughout the Rocky Mountains. A warmer, drier climate, and the resulting beetle infestations that are killing millions of trees, are increasing fire risks. Firefighting is also becoming much more expensive because it increasingly involves protecting homes. Forest management needs are being altered by global warming, water quality is being impacted, and wildlife habitat is being broken up and permanently impaired.

Despite these potential problems, the State of Montana recently teamed up with environmental groups and other interests to purchase hundreds of thousands of acres of Plum Creek land.  The value of these lands increases dramatically if they can be legally subdivided. The actions of the U.S. Forest Service and DNRC have directly driven up the price tag of the Plum Creek lands that the governments are now trying to purchase.

State Land Board meeting minutes from 2006 reflect the Board’s original intent in approving a new easement policy: “Governor Schweitzer said from my perspective I’d like to see us maintain a healthy inventory of timbered lands to continue harvesting the way we have for the last 100 years.” Most people would agree with that statement. It is extremely unfortunate, and inexplicably contradictory, that the actions of one of the governor’s own agencies (DNRC) is undermining that laudable goal.