BLM Considering 13,000 Acre Purchase in Blackfoot

[BigHornRam]

Make your comments soon.

Easy to use email link in the story to send comments to the Missoula office. Deadline is June 27.

BLM Plans To Acquire 13,000 Acres Near Missoula

13,000 acres of land in the lower Blackfoot watershed may become public.Tuesday, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released an environmental assessment…

www.mtpr.org

 

[BigHornRam]

Slashed red and outlined in blue are the proposed acres.

 

[BigHornRam]

What the area looks like on the ground.

 

[BigHornRam]

Missoula enviros trying to throw cold water on this purchase. Their dishonesty doesn't suprise me.

BLM considers buying 13,000 acres in Blackfoot-Clearwater for recreation

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is considering the acquisition of up to 13,000 acres of former Nature Conservancy land in the Blackfoot-Clearwater region east of Missoula.

www.missoulacurrent.com

 

[davinski]

I'm all for more public land and public access and have little trust in the Nature Conservancy. But it's no secret that oil and gas is more easily extracted from public land than private. Probably more to the story on all sides. With the state of environmental scrutiny on new oil and gas extraction, I'd be for the purchase, hopefully people embrace it.

 

[BigHornRam]

But it's no secret that oil and gas is more easily extracted from public land than private.

Where do you get this from? Link please.

TNC has been an extremely good conservation organization in Western Montana. Can you give examples of where they have not been?

 

[davinski]

I don't have a link, I just see where the gas wells are around me in western Colorado and gas/oil in eastern UT. Companies have taken great pains to put wells on the corners of public and avoid private when they can. Hell, I used to do land survey work for them and have many friends that work in oil and gas. It's common sense, the BLM is one landowner, private land is many, therefore less paperwork. I assume it's like that all over but fully admit my ignorance to goings-on in MT. I'm no anti-extraction zealot, I have many friends in oil and gas around here and the world. I just think good compromises can be found about anywhere when everyone works in good faith.

I don't know TNC from a hole in the ground, but do generally know BLM rules and where to find them. I don't trust what I don't know, my problem, not anyone else's. If you say they are a good conservation organization, I believe you as much as any other poster on here. They could be great, or not. I always take the stance that any non-public landowner, however friendly, could sell to someone less friendly at any time no matter what charters, or boards, or mission statements say. At least under federal stewardship, the sell-it-off process is a bit more transparent.

Looking through the posts, I assumed you were for the land sale to BLM. Is that not the case? If not, please expand. I just emailed BLM my comments of support having only read the two articles and this post. For what comments from someone three states away matter, anyway...

 

[BigHornRam]

Yes I am for this land purchase. I just provided the Missoula Current article so folks here can see who is trying to sabotage this deal. There are no viable oil and gas basins in Missoula county. The hand wringing in the article is just a smoke screen by environmentalists to confuse the general public. That's what they do.

 

[davinski]

Cool. Hope it goes through.

 

[BucksnDucks]

Thanks for posting. For what its worth my experience with TNC has been mostly positive in Northern California. The group has acted as an intermediary between private land ownership being transferred to public. An example is a working almond or walnut orchard along a riparian corridor is purchased by Federal or State agency. TNC takes ownership for an agreed upon time while the ground is farmed. After the trees are cut and land replanted to native species the land is transferred to Fed or state for management (generally within managed hunt units open to the public).

 

[Nameless Range]

Thanks BHR. This is good country, and worth commenting and support of

 

[MTGomer]

I'm all for more public land and public access and have little trust in the Nature Conservancy. But it's no secret that oil and gas is more easily extracted from public land than private. Probably more to the story on all sides. With the state of environmental scrutiny on new oil and gas extraction, I'd be for the purchase, hopefully people embrace it.

Is it? I’ve routed, permitted, surveyed, acquired ROW, watched be installed, supervised inspection, watched commissioning and closed out private land oil projects in 60ish days. Less for water lines to supply frack water
You can’t even scope a Federal Land project in 90

 

[MTGomer]

The Nature Conservancy bought this land from Stimson.

I killed this bull a few years back. I asked them again last novermber if they were still allowing non motorized hunting and they said yes. They’re better neighbors than the ‘philanthropist’ that bought a bunch of land nearby and closed off public hunting, built a bunch of roads and lets his friends chase what were seldom pressured elk, 6 Miles from the road, with their ATVs.

 

[BuzzH]

Some solid sustainable forestry in the background characterized by a great example of non-declining even flow...the kind of forestry practices that support generations of mill workers, knocking down 6 figure salaries, in places like Libby. Cleary suffering from "overgrowth".

I do like the idea of the BLM acquiring the land in question, not much of that country in BHR's map that I haven't hunted, fished, or trapped.

 

[BuzzH]

View attachment 107348

What the area looks like on the ground.

It doesn't all look like that...just over the hill from your picture.

 

[MTGomer]

Some solid sustainable forestry in the background characterized by a great example of non-declining even flow...the kind of forestry practices that support generations of mill workers, knocking down 6 figure salaries, in places like Libby. Cleary suffering from "overgrowth".


I do like the idea of the BLM acquiring the land in question, not much of that country in BHR's map that I haven't hunted, fished, or trapped.

Confusing mining gold with working in a lumber mill is a new one. Even for you, that’s a good one.


The Ryan Gulch Fire of 2000 burnt that place to a crisp.

Ryan Gulch fire, and how the ranchers won their case against the state of Montana

Trial about backfires on the Ryan Gulch fire, and how the ranchers won their case against the state of Montana.

wildfiretoday.com

“After the fire, you could hardly walk here. It had burned away all the duff and dirt, so it was like walking on marbles.”

Ranching family still dealing with damage from 2000 backfire at Ryan Gulch

BEARMOUTH – From Interstate 90, Fred Weaver’s ranch looks rich and green. But climb 3,500 feet up the slopes of Mount Baldy, and most of the freeway disappears. Motorists can’t

missoulian.com

The private lands like the ones in the back ground, that had salvageable timber after the burn (Stimson and Plum Creek at that time) were logged and replanted after the fire. It supports a good number of elk. Cow hunting has done a number on that recently but there’s still a lot of elk.
The stuff that wasnt logged and didn’t burn as severe looks like a pile of matches and holds not much for game.

None of this timber management, mismanagement, action, inaction, or however else you’d view it, the fire, the replanting, or anything else happened under the ownership of The Nature Conservancy. None.

 

[MTGomer]

It doesn't all look like that...just over the hill from your picture.

Also curious what’s the big difference in how it looks between your pic and BHR’s. The season? I bet November happens in his wild flower patch too. Just a guess.

 

[BuzzH]

Also curious what’s the big difference in how it looks between your pic and BHR’s. The season? I bet November happens in his wild flower patch too. Just a guess.

Need glasses?

The public should see both sides of what they're buying, not a cherry picked photo showing balsam root covered south slopes and cut over low-mid elevation DF stands.

They're getting a lot of weed problems, road problems, sediment problems, under-stocked clear-cuts, over-stocked clear-cuts, cut over sub-alpine type stuff that wasn't slashed properly...just to name a few of the potential management challenges the BLM/public is going to get stuck with. All of which is subject to 80+ year stand rotations...best case. Not to mention terrible budgets that provide very little funding for management.

 

[Sytes]

Make your comments soon.

Easy to use email link in the story to send comments to the Missoula office. Deadline is June 27.

BLM Plans To Acquire 13,000 Acres Near Missoula

13,000 acres of land in the lower Blackfoot watershed may become public.Tuesday, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released an environmental assessment…

www.mtpr.org

Done. Thanks for sharing.

 

[BigHornRam]

It doesn't all look like that...just over the hill from your picture.

The area does have a significant knapweed problem that really shows itself in the fall with some snow on the ground. TNC has treated significant number of acres since they have purchased it. They have also replaced many culverts and repaired many miles of problem roads.

This article from the original BLM purchase in 2016 doesn't gloss over the problems with this area.

New Land Added to Blackfoot River Corridor

Recreational public access and wildlife habitat have been protected on nearly 5,500 acres of former industrial timberland in the Blackfoot Valley. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) transferred the land to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) using an award from the Land and Water Conservation...

www.seeleylake.com