Green Diamond and Fish, Wildlife & Parks pitch $57.5 million easement to protect 52,930 acres in Lincoln County

Green Diamond Resource Company and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks presented a proposal Aug. 20 for Phase 2 of the Montana Great Outdoors conservation easement, a voluntary agreement designed to keep 52,930 acres of private working forest in timber production while securing permanent public access.

Brian Hobde, area manager for Green Diamond, said the easement would preserve commercial timber management and public access while keeping the land in private ownership. Fish, Wildlife & Parks presenters described the project as focused on working-forest stewardship, wildfire risk reduction and protection of fish and wildlife habitat, including elk, moose and bull trout habitat.

FWP said the purchase price for the Phase 2 easement is $57.5 million. Presenters said most funding would come from the U.S. Forest Service Forest Legacy Program, with additional funding from Habitat Montana and a contribution from Green Diamond equal to roughly 35% of the project cost.

Presenters described the conservation easement as a tool that removes residential and industrial development rights while allowing timber harvest under sustained-yield plans. FWP estimated the property receives about 9,500 days of hunting and fishing access annually and emphasized the easement’s role in maintaining recreation-based local economic activity.

Presenters also said legal questions about mineral-rights claims had been examined and that the easement would only encumber rights the signatory actually owns; outreach and documentation were underway to address stakeholder concerns. Funding and terms are advanced: the project was scheduled for review by the Fish and Wildlife Commission the day after the meeting and, if approved, would go to the state Land Board on Oct. 20 for a final decision. Presenters said the partners hoped to close the project in December if approvals proceed.

Commissioners asked about biomass uses for small-diameter wood removed by thinning. Green Diamond staff said pre-commercial thinning is designed to improve stand productivity and that greater local capacity to utilize pulp and nonsaw material (for pellets, cogeneration or other products) would improve the economics of those treatments. Presenters and commissioners agreed the region lacks sufficient outlets for low-value, high-volume biomass and encouraged continued efforts to grow local processing capacity.

Next steps: the Fish and Wildlife Commission review is the immediate procedural milestone, followed by the Land Board decision in October. If those approvals occur, partners aim to close the transaction in December.