FWP recommends Whitefish land project

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is recommending one of the two conservation easements that make up the proposed Whitefish Lake Watershed Project.

FWP last week issued a finding of no significant impact for the Lazy Creek portion of the project. The entire project proposes to place 13,000 acres of Weyerhaeuser property northwest of Whitefish under two conservation easements.

FWP will recommend the Lazy Creek easement to the Fish and Wildlife Commission for their approval. FWP’s acquisition of the Lazy Creek easement and the state Department of Natural Resource and Conservation’s proposed eventual ownership of the property require the approval of the State Land Board. The Trust for Public Land is set to purchase the entire project area from Weyerhaeuser by the end of September 2017.

“FWP appreciates the commitment from Weyerhaeuser, TPL, BPA, and DNRC, who have all helped to provide this opportunity to continue sustainable forest management, conserve fish and wildlife habitat, and provide for continued public enjoyment on these treasured lands,” said Jim Williams, Region 1 Supervisor for FWP, in a prepared statement.

Weyerhaeuser has decided to sell the property, but has agreed to give the Trust for Public Land the first option to buy and conserve it. A series of land maneuvers involving several agencies is proposed to place the property under conservation easements and under state ownership, while still allowing for recreation on the entire project and for sustainable forest management on about 10,000 acres.

The project would protect important fish and wildlife habitat that is currently threatened by residential development, FWP’s environmental assessment notes.

FWP released a draft environmental assessment on the project in June and received 34 comments with all in favor of conserving the property.

Three of the comments raised a desire for FWP to pursue an additional project in the area to conserve additional property. The project originally included an additional three sections on the southern end of the area, but those were removed because of a lack of federal or private funding for those sections.

“While we would support a conservation outcome for the remaining three sections, we know of no potential funding sources that could support such an endeavor,” FWP says in its decision.

One comment supported FWP or the U.S. Forest Service owning the entire property, but not DNRC because it would not allow for adequate protection of public recreation and water.

FWP in response said that both the Lazy Creek portion and the BPA-held easement on the Swift Creek portion have “terms that encourage public recreation on the property” and both include “terms restricting activities that would harm water quality on the property.”

One comment also said that a component of the project should be to incorporate recreation management for access at the Upper Whitefish Road on U.S. Highway 93. FWP responded by noting that while the project encourages public recreational opportunities, it does not require designed, managed recreational amenities and that it would be up to the future landowner to decide how to manage access and recreational opportunities.

A series of land transactions is proposed to create the conservation easements. First, TPL would acquire the entire area.

FWP would purchase the Lazy Creek conservation easement at about 10,000 acres in two phases with a combination of federal and state funding. DNRC would then purchase the underlying fee ownership from TPL once the conservation easement is in place.

FWP and TPL have secured $7 million in U.S. Forest Service Forest Legacy Program funding and $2 million in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Habitat Conservation Plan Land Acquisition funding for the first phase of the project.

FWP has requested the same amount from each federal program for phase two, which includes the remaining roughly 3,000 acres of the Lazy Creek section.

FWP’s Habitat Montana Program has committed $1 million for each of the two Lazy Creek phases.

The Bonneville Power Administration would provide approximately $11.5 million in funding for the purchase of the remaining 3,000 acres in the Swift Creek watershed. In exchange for their funding, BPA would retain a perpetual conservation easement with ownership of these sections being transferred to the state.

The draft environmental assessment along with the decision of no significant impact will become the final environmental assessment for the project.