Stimson Completes Final Montana Easement, Placing Entire Timber Base Under Conservation Protection
The 20,629-acre easement in Lincoln, Mineral and Sanders counties is the final piece of a 15-year effort to permanently protect Stimson's inland timber holdings
By Tristan Scott
A 20,629-acre conservation easement in Lincoln, Mineral and Sanders counties has closed, marking the completion of a 15-year push by Stimson Lumber Company to place its entire 130,000-acre Montana timber base under permanent conservation protection.
The Trust for Public Land (TPL), Stimson and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) announced the closing this week, following the state Fish and Wildlife Commission’s final approval of the purchase on Aug. 19.
The Stimson Timberland Legacy Conservation Easement marks the fourth easement completed by TPL and Stimson in the state, bringing more than 99% of Stimson’s Montana acreage under permanent conservation protection. The easement carries an appraised value of $29,293,900.
The easement prevents development while allowing the land to remain in sustainable timber production, and it secures free, year-round public access across the entire property and to adjacent public lands — including the Wanless Lake trailhead in Sanders County, a well-used entry point to the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness Area.
“For more than 15 years, Stimson has worked to place its Montana timberlands under working conservation easements,” Barry Dexter, Stimson’s resource advisor, told commissioners at the Aug. 19 hearing. “This easement is the final step, the final building block in that process.”
The easement was paid for through federal grant money and donations rather than state land-board funds, which is why the commission’s Aug. 19 vote stood as the final approval needed. Secured funding included $10.2 million from the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Legacy Program, $250,000 from Avista Utilities, $150,000 from NorthWestern Energy, and $1,015,000 raised privately through TPL. Stimson donated the remaining balance — about 60% of the easement’s value, or $17,678,900.
Beyond preventing subdivision, the easement protects 39 miles of streams, 309 acres of riparian habitat and 472 acres of wetlands, according to TPL, with streamside management protections intended to safeguard drinking water for nearly 30,000 downstream residents.
The property also conserves year-round wildlife habitat and a migration corridor for elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer and moose, along with critical habitat for bull trout, grizzly bear and Canada lynx — all species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The checkerboarded parcels, stretching from Libby to Superior, provide an estimated 6,000 days per year of public hunting and angling use, according to FWP land and water program manager Bill Schenk, and share 115 miles of border with U.S. Forest Service and state lands.
The project builds on 107,664 acres Stimson has already placed under public-access conservation easements in northwest Montana.
The easement drew broad support in written and in-person comments to the commission from sportsman and conservation groups, including the Montana Outfitters and Guides Association, the Anaconda Sportsman’s Club and the Montana Wildlife Federation.
“Stimson is an active manager of our timberlands; we are not an absentee landowner,” Dexter said. “What remains of this traditional timberland is really important to preserve these lands, produce timber, provide jobs, maintain open space, provide key fish and wildlife habitat, and also provide the public with free and permanent access.”
Stimson Lumber Company CEO and President Kelly Robinson said the completed easement caps the company’s broader conservation strategy in the state. TPL’s Northern Rockies director, David Weinstein, along with FWP Director Christy Clark, Sen. Steve Daines, Sen. Tim Sheehy and Rep. Ryan Zinke, also issued statements marking the completion, citing the project’s benefits for timber jobs, wildlife habitat, water quality and public recreation access.