BigHornRam
Well-known member
Opinion
Thanks to vocal public, Plum Creek did right - Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Plum Creek Timber Co. could have gotten its way.
The company had spent many months in discussions with the U.S. Forest Service and all the dominoes were finally lined up, waiting only for Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey to wave his hand and set them in motion. By Rey's own account, he was on the verge of doing just that - over the objections of several Montana counties and despite the threat of an avalanche of lawsuits.
But what Rey chose to ignore, Plum Creek heard, and this week, the timber company-turned-real estate investment trust announced it was shelving its push for an amendment to certain road easements on forest land.
The exact nature and scope of the amendment has yet to be made clear to the general public, in part because the Forest Service has been less than cooperative about providing Missoula County and others with public documents essential to their understanding. It didn't help that Forest Service officials held initial meetings on the issue with Plum Creek in secret.
However, many suspect that the amendment basically would have allowed roads that had traditionally been used for timber and recreation to be used to access private property - a change that would significantly increase the value of Plum Creek's real estate, but also put local taxpayers on the hook for extending emergency services to those remote houses and maintaining untold miles of new roads.
The controversial negotiations called for Plum Creek to address some of those concerns through, for instance, cost-sharing agreements with homeowner associations. Fortunately, even as the company confirmed that the deal has been shelved, Plum Creek CEO Rick Holley pledged to continue road maintenance and fire management discussions with the Forest Service.
Plum Creek cited only strong public opposition as its reason for pulling out of the deal, but we venture to guess the company calculated it had little to gain by pushing for an unpopular, lawsuit-ready easement amendment in a weak real estate market. Rey apparently had no such qualms, as only a few days earlier he made it clear he would see the matter closed before leaving his office, to which he was appointed by the Bush administration, on Jan. 20.
But now, the matter is far from closed. In fact, it's quite likely the road easement issue will pop up again, since the question of whether they allow residential access has yet to be resolved. But in putting the deal on hold, Plum Creek, which owns about 1.2 million acres of land in Montana and nearly 7 million more in other states, has allowed us a little more time to figure out what we stand to lose - or gain.
So while it is both frustrating and infuriating that some government officials within a public agency have opted to ignore the will of the public, it is gratifying to know that the will of the public was not, ultimately, ignored.
So congratulations, Montanans, on making your wishes known. You spoke, and Plum Creek listened.
And Plum Creek - thanks for listening.
Thanks to vocal public, Plum Creek did right - Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Plum Creek Timber Co. could have gotten its way.
The company had spent many months in discussions with the U.S. Forest Service and all the dominoes were finally lined up, waiting only for Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey to wave his hand and set them in motion. By Rey's own account, he was on the verge of doing just that - over the objections of several Montana counties and despite the threat of an avalanche of lawsuits.
But what Rey chose to ignore, Plum Creek heard, and this week, the timber company-turned-real estate investment trust announced it was shelving its push for an amendment to certain road easements on forest land.
The exact nature and scope of the amendment has yet to be made clear to the general public, in part because the Forest Service has been less than cooperative about providing Missoula County and others with public documents essential to their understanding. It didn't help that Forest Service officials held initial meetings on the issue with Plum Creek in secret.
However, many suspect that the amendment basically would have allowed roads that had traditionally been used for timber and recreation to be used to access private property - a change that would significantly increase the value of Plum Creek's real estate, but also put local taxpayers on the hook for extending emergency services to those remote houses and maintaining untold miles of new roads.
The controversial negotiations called for Plum Creek to address some of those concerns through, for instance, cost-sharing agreements with homeowner associations. Fortunately, even as the company confirmed that the deal has been shelved, Plum Creek CEO Rick Holley pledged to continue road maintenance and fire management discussions with the Forest Service.
Plum Creek cited only strong public opposition as its reason for pulling out of the deal, but we venture to guess the company calculated it had little to gain by pushing for an unpopular, lawsuit-ready easement amendment in a weak real estate market. Rey apparently had no such qualms, as only a few days earlier he made it clear he would see the matter closed before leaving his office, to which he was appointed by the Bush administration, on Jan. 20.
But now, the matter is far from closed. In fact, it's quite likely the road easement issue will pop up again, since the question of whether they allow residential access has yet to be resolved. But in putting the deal on hold, Plum Creek, which owns about 1.2 million acres of land in Montana and nearly 7 million more in other states, has allowed us a little more time to figure out what we stand to lose - or gain.
So while it is both frustrating and infuriating that some government officials within a public agency have opted to ignore the will of the public, it is gratifying to know that the will of the public was not, ultimately, ignored.
So congratulations, Montanans, on making your wishes known. You spoke, and Plum Creek listened.
And Plum Creek - thanks for listening.
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