Meeting planned, comment period extended for Woods Bay sale
By ALEX STRICKLAND / Bigfork Eagle
A community meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight, April 17, at Swan River Hall to discuss the proposed sale of 440 acres in Woods Bay.
House District 9 Representative Bill Jones and the Democratic candidate for that seat in this fall's election, Edd Blackler, are hosting the meeting in an effort to provide a clearinghouse for public comment and to generate discussion about the policies behind the sale, according to Jones.
"It seems like we just lose one thing at a time," Jones said. "We never gain on this, we just lose."
Jones said he hopes the meeting encourages people to bring ideas to the table about this particular parcel, and also to discuss the land banking law, which is the statute under which this sale is being considered.
Land banking allows the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation to sell pieces of state land and put the money into an account to be used to purchase other lands. DNRC Director Mary Sexton told the Eagle in a recent interview that this allows the DNRC to accumulate contiguous blocks of land that are easier to manage and don't have access issues.
The state forests are managed as school trust lands, Sexton said, and the primary purpose of the properties is to generate income for Montana's public education system. To qualify for the land banking system, a parcel must meet certain criteria that include isolation or lack of access.
Sexton said that the 440 acres in Woods Bay is difficult to manage because it is surrounded on three sides by private land and on the fourth by the Forest Service. She said timber management was difficult because of limited or lack of access through private holdings.
DNRC has tried unsuccessfully to negotiate permanent access to the parcel for several years, and ATV trespass has also been an issue on the property, she said.
Jones said he and Blackler went to Helena last week to talk to the DNRC about the sale and as a result the agency extended the public comment period from April 21 to May 21.
"We have received a number of requests to extend the public comment period on this parcel," Sexton said in a press release. "We understand local interest is high and we want to give the public more time to share their views."
DNRC spokesman John Grassy said that the agency has decided to hold a public meeting in the Bigfork/Woods Bay area about the proposed sale, but that a time and location have not been decided yet.
The parcel in question, officially Section 20, T26N, R19W, includes popular recreation spots at Estes Lake and Lower Estes Lake.
Sexton emphasized that no decision has been made on the Woods Bay parcel, and she and Grassy both stressed that the DNRC is open to any creative proposals that can be brought forth on the local level.
Grassy indicated that those could include land trades with the Forest Service or possibly acquisition by a local land trust.
"We welcome ideas for not only sale of the land but easements or land exchanges that would support DNRC's mandate and also satisfy the community," Sexton said.
For more information about the community action meeting, call Edd Blackler at 837-5196 or e-mail him at blackler@acrossmontana.net.