No headline

The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission has endorsed a proposed conservation easement north of Whitefish Lake.

The proposed Whitefish Lake Watershed Project conservation easement is about 15,000 acres of commercial timberland owned by Weyerhauser. The commission during an Oct. 13 meeting gave its OK on the proposal.

The lands are surrounded by the Stillwater State Forest and is dissected by Swift Creek and Lazy Creek. The eastern edge of the property is about 1 1/2 miles from Whitefish Lake.

A preliminary price tag for the conservation easement has been estimated at $40 million.

The project has been praised as a way to protect critical fish and wildlife habitat, provide continued public access to the property and protect the city of Whitefish’s water supply.

The property has long been viewed as one of the top conservation priorities in Region One, and was identified as such in the State Wildlife Action Plan, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials told the commission. If its not protected it would likely be developed because of the amenities it offers with proximity to Whitefish, FWP notes.

“The property provides habitat and supports hunting opportunities for deer, elk, moose, bear, lion, wolf and forest grouse, as well as providing important habitat for 42 species of greatest conservation need,” FWP said in a memo to the commission.

Under the proposed agreement for the project, The Trust for Public Land will have an option to purchase 1,920 acres and establish a conservation easement on the remaining 13,414 acres, which Weyerhauser will continue to own and manage as a working forest. The purchased lands will likely eventually be transferred into public ownership or to a conservation buyer.

The agreement is still subject to final conditions including appraisal and secured funding.

The project is expected to be primarily funded through federal grants from the Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and Bonneville Power Administration, along with private funding through TPL, but could also include some funding through Habitat Montana.

Last month it was announced that the project had earned $2 million in funding through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

The U.S. Forest Service has also ranked the watershed project among its highest national priorities for the Forest Legacy Program for fiscal year 2017 recommending a budget proposal of $7 million to the project.

The easement would prevent future development on the property. Weyerhauser would still continue to log the property under Sustainable Forest Initiative standards.

The property produces about 2.4 million board-feet of timber per year and employs about 24 full-time timber industry workers, according to the state.

Whitefish Lake also provides a portion of the city of Whitefish’s municipal water. The city gets about 20 percent of its water supply from the lake and about 80 percent from Haskill Basin.

The commission also voted to approve a 7,000-plus acre conservation easement along Trumbull Creek north of Columbia Falls. The easement is valued at about $12.7 million and is located on F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co. property.

The easement complements the 3,000 acre conservation easement in Haskill Basin northeast of Whitefish completed earlier this year.