TreeDog
Member
Stimson would be great. Even better if the purchase allows them to open a mill in Montana again.
Weyerhaeuser to Sell Montana Lands
- Thread starter TreeDog
- Start date
My guess is Stimson saw the writing on the wall in Oregon and is moving its business to Idaho and Montana.
Stimson Lumber Announces It’s Pulling Timber Jobs Out of Oregon, in Rebuke to New Taxes and Carbon Caps
The company’s CEO, Andrew Miller, has long bridled at Democratic tax and environmental policies.www.wweek.com
Too bad them and Stone didn’t see the writing a little sooner, a lot of people wouldn’t have lost their jobs and businesses. (Not that those kind of jobs are wanted around today’s Missoula)
BigHornRam
Well-known member
FWP proposes 183K acres for easements, purchases
Montana’s public lands could grow by 2,800 acres, and conservation easements may be placed on 180,610 acres — some allowing year-round access — under nine proposals endorsed Thursday by the
Stimson is working hand in hand with The Trust For Public Land to place conservation easements on their lands they are purchasing. The Lost Creek conservation easement on Weyerhaeuser land that is now being sold to undisclosed at this time is in the pipeline.
Doesn't mean that some of this Weyerhaeuser land won't end up private and inaccessible to the public in the future. My advice would be stay involved and informed on what's going on there.
BigHornRam
Well-known member
A lot of people saw that train wreck coming but still couldn't get out of the way.
BigHornRam
Well-known member
This is the key part of whether or not Stimson opens a new mill in Libby.
"It’s possible we could see a mill in five years.” Rowland said. “It’s largely dependent on the Forest Service, and right now it looks optimistic. They are bringing in the right managers.”
BigHornRam
Well-known member
Well shit! I just heard from someone more in the know than me, that they heard it was not Stimson. 
BigHornRam
Well-known member
Weyerhaeuser should have kept the Montana land and sold off their Oregon properties.
www.capitalpress.com
Timber company spars with Oregon ranch over open range
The Weyerhaeuser timber company is asking the Oregon Court of Appeals to overturn a ruling that returned 17,000 acres its owns in Curry County to “open range” where livestock can
Bulldog0156
Well-known member
Fun fact, Wilkes own property in the upper Yaak.
I did some sleuthing today and the folks in the timber industry that I talked to did not know who the buyer was. Gonna be interesting.
Too bad the state couldn't pony up the cash to buy all that property; they could turn the cost into profit for the school trust in the long run I would imagine.
Mtnhunter1
Well-known member
Well shit! I just heard from someone more in the know than me, that they heard it was not Stimson.
I have also heard this...with the complete info blackout...this sale warrants nervousness!
Bowhunter65
Member
more on region 1, here you go
Peck: Weyerhaeuser land sale a ‘disaster’ for county
By DERRICK PERKINS
The Western News
A “disaster,” is how Lincoln County Commissioner Mark Peck described the potential sale of 630,000 acres of timberland in northwest Montana.
Weyerhaeuser Company announced the pending land deal Dec. 17. It stands to receive $145 million in cash for the sale. Company officials expect the deal to be completed in 2020.
The vast swathe of land includes portions of Flathead, Lake and Sanders counties as well as much of the woodland southwest of Libby in Lincoln County, said Peck, chair of the board of commissioners. Most of it was originally given as land grants to the railroad companies, he said.
Peck levelled his blunt assessment of the sale during the board of commissioner’s Dec. 18 meeting.
Weyerhaeuser Company officials described the
move in a press release as a strategic realignment. The company owns about 12 million acres of timberland across the country.
“The sale of our Montana acreage is part of our ongoing effort to strategically optimize our timberland portfolio,” said Devin Stockfish, Weyerhaeuser president and CEO, in a statement. “The transaction includes a diverse mix of softwood species and an existing 110,000-acre conservation easement which preserves public access in perpetuity.”
The official announcement of the sale declined to name a buyer, but Peck, chair of the board of county commissioners, said Georgia-based Southern Pine Plantations is purchasing the property. The company is a real estate, rather than timber, business, he said.
Peck worries Southern Pine Plantations will resell the vast
tract of land to private owners, who will restrict or cut off access to the property. The company previously bought and then sold land to brothers and fracking magnates Dan and Farris Wilks in Idaho, he said.
An article in The New York Times earlier this year described the brothers as becoming “a symbol of the out-of-touch owner” in Idaho.
“In Idaho, as their property has expanded, the brothers have shuttered trails and hired armed guards to patrol their acres, blocking and stymying access not only to their private property, but also to some publicly owned areas. This has drawn ire from everyday Idahoans who have hiked and hunted in those hills for generations,” reported Times correspondent Julie Turkewitz.
Peck fears a similar situation in Lincoln County. Hunters, fishers, hikers and loggers all might lose access to the land in one fell swoop, he said.
The sale also potentially blocks Stimson Lumber Co. from continuing to buy up property around the county, Peck said. That would end the county
commissioners’ hopes of seeing a new mill open up in the Libby area.
County Commissioner Jerry Bennett said that when he first got wind of the sale, he hoped it was Stimson buying up the land. The announcement came as a surprise to county commissioners and Stimson officials alike, Peck said.
“This is a threat to our economy, a threat to our heritage,” Peck said. “I’m a capitalist, but capitalism has to have a conscience.”
While Weyerhaeuser officials said they planned to keep their trio of manufacturing facilities in Montana running, Peck does not believe it. There is no way to keep them operating cut off from timberland, he said.
Given that the land sale is private, local officials only have so much leverage. Peck said he hopes to exert political pressure to convince Weyerhaeuser to reconsider the sale. He urged county residents to call him to discuss how to sway the company, which generated $7.5 billion in revenue in 2018.
Copyright (c) 2019 The Western News, Edition 12/20/2019
This firm is a go between for the Wilk's would be my guess, look at the fiance report and wht they bought, they were the firm that bought Potlatch in 2016 in McCall, Idaho. Just a hunch that this is what is happen.
Peck: Weyerhaeuser land sale a ‘disaster’ for county
By DERRICK PERKINS
The Western News
A “disaster,” is how Lincoln County Commissioner Mark Peck described the potential sale of 630,000 acres of timberland in northwest Montana.
Weyerhaeuser Company announced the pending land deal Dec. 17. It stands to receive $145 million in cash for the sale. Company officials expect the deal to be completed in 2020.
The vast swathe of land includes portions of Flathead, Lake and Sanders counties as well as much of the woodland southwest of Libby in Lincoln County, said Peck, chair of the board of commissioners. Most of it was originally given as land grants to the railroad companies, he said.
Peck levelled his blunt assessment of the sale during the board of commissioner’s Dec. 18 meeting.
Weyerhaeuser Company officials described the
move in a press release as a strategic realignment. The company owns about 12 million acres of timberland across the country.
“The sale of our Montana acreage is part of our ongoing effort to strategically optimize our timberland portfolio,” said Devin Stockfish, Weyerhaeuser president and CEO, in a statement. “The transaction includes a diverse mix of softwood species and an existing 110,000-acre conservation easement which preserves public access in perpetuity.”
The official announcement of the sale declined to name a buyer, but Peck, chair of the board of county commissioners, said Georgia-based Southern Pine Plantations is purchasing the property. The company is a real estate, rather than timber, business, he said.
Peck worries Southern Pine Plantations will resell the vast
tract of land to private owners, who will restrict or cut off access to the property. The company previously bought and then sold land to brothers and fracking magnates Dan and Farris Wilks in Idaho, he said.
An article in The New York Times earlier this year described the brothers as becoming “a symbol of the out-of-touch owner” in Idaho.
“In Idaho, as their property has expanded, the brothers have shuttered trails and hired armed guards to patrol their acres, blocking and stymying access not only to their private property, but also to some publicly owned areas. This has drawn ire from everyday Idahoans who have hiked and hunted in those hills for generations,” reported Times correspondent Julie Turkewitz.
Peck fears a similar situation in Lincoln County. Hunters, fishers, hikers and loggers all might lose access to the land in one fell swoop, he said.
The sale also potentially blocks Stimson Lumber Co. from continuing to buy up property around the county, Peck said. That would end the county
commissioners’ hopes of seeing a new mill open up in the Libby area.
County Commissioner Jerry Bennett said that when he first got wind of the sale, he hoped it was Stimson buying up the land. The announcement came as a surprise to county commissioners and Stimson officials alike, Peck said.
“This is a threat to our economy, a threat to our heritage,” Peck said. “I’m a capitalist, but capitalism has to have a conscience.”
While Weyerhaeuser officials said they planned to keep their trio of manufacturing facilities in Montana running, Peck does not believe it. There is no way to keep them operating cut off from timberland, he said.
Given that the land sale is private, local officials only have so much leverage. Peck said he hopes to exert political pressure to convince Weyerhaeuser to reconsider the sale. He urged county residents to call him to discuss how to sway the company, which generated $7.5 billion in revenue in 2018.
Copyright (c) 2019 The Western News, Edition 12/20/2019
This firm is a go between for the Wilk's would be my guess, look at the fiance report and wht they bought, they were the firm that bought Potlatch in 2016 in McCall, Idaho. Just a hunch that this is what is happen.
Irrelevant
Well-known member
Well hey, at least the Wilks have shown the ability to grow an elk herd so there's that.
Mtnhunter1
Well-known member
This news just turns my stomach! What a train wreck for Region One.
neffa3.....true statement but.......
neffa3.....true statement but.......
Weyerhaeuser deal could block access to thousands of acres of land, Lincoln County officials say
A company thats previously sold lands to a pair of brothers known for closing public access to thousands of a
www.hungryhorsenews.com
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Ridgerunner6901
Well-known member
Incredibly shitty on many levels
Mtnhunter1
Well-known member
Notice the Checker-Board.....This is a much bigger loss than the total acres sold.
The FWP Hwy 2 check station numbers reflect that this area is the most popular for the Flathead Valley hunting community. If the worst case scenario comes to be, these hunters will have to relocate their hunting efforts on a ever shirking piece of the pie....very, very sad!
The FWP Hwy 2 check station numbers reflect that this area is the most popular for the Flathead Valley hunting community. If the worst case scenario comes to be, these hunters will have to relocate their hunting efforts on a ever shirking piece of the pie....very, very sad!
Looking at that map, it rolls my mind back 25 years, when Plumb Creek sold their holdings in the Gallatin and Madison Ranges to Big Sky Lumber. There were tons of important deeded lands we previously had access to under Plumb Creek ownership and even more checkerboard we would have lost access to under BSL ownership, if not for the series of land exchanges that solves most of the issues. It took a ton of work by so many people. The dividends of that hard work the public is still realizing today. It still boggles my mind that the outcome was as favorable as it was, in spite of having to give up a few gems that nobody wanted to lose.
If I could give any advice based on the experience of the Gallatin-Madison exchanges, it would be these items below:
> Assume nothing and take nothing for granted - If hunters don't show up in mass, expect to be left out. It is good to get the word out and inform people via social media, but nothing can replace a large showing of hunters at meetings, followed by their phone calls and emails to the same people.
I hate to see this happening. I worry that the different political environment of today makes this infinitely more difficult than what we had 25 years ago. Yet, it is an opportunity to engage and do some great things for public lands. It will create some new groups and new leaders for these important issues. It will help sort out who is "with us or against us."
Please use this forum for anything helpful. And send me messages if you think our other platforms can be helpful in getting the word out.
If I could give any advice based on the experience of the Gallatin-Madison exchanges, it would be these items below:
> Assume nothing and take nothing for granted - If hunters don't show up in mass, expect to be left out. It is good to get the word out and inform people via social media, but nothing can replace a large showing of hunters at meetings, followed by their phone calls and emails to the same people.
> Consider every possibility - Receipts from timber sales were used to buy a lot of the Taylor's Fork lands. I have no idea who came up with that creative idea, but I clearly recall the "Ridge Hippies" and their "hair on fire" response to using the proceeds from logging. As a result, we were able to acquire a lot of the Taylor's Fork properties that would have quickly been developed. Not sure what creative solutions will arise, but I know the locals will have ideas and relationships that can create some huge differences.
> Engage every politician - We had City Commissions, County Commissions, State Legislators, the Governor, and the entire Montana delegation on board and working toward solutions and funding. If ever I saw where part designation did not matter, it was when hundreds of public land users showed up at every political event to make sure both sides were supporting these solutions. We got formal support from FWP, the Chambers of Commerce, local Tourism agencies, and anyone we thought might benefit from being seen as supporting these efforts.
> Work with every partner - The Gallatin exchanges had a key non-profit leader outside the hunting space. The Trust For Public Lands did some amazing things. They accomplished some items that required unique skills and relationships. In the modern day tribalism we experience in our society, I worry that groups will stick with their own "tribes" and not see the benefits of working with all groups. I could see TNC and TPL playing a big role in solutions here, given they have done a lot of great work in other parts of NW Montana.
> Get organized - Whether it is using forums like Hunt Talk, starting FB pages, etc., get things started now. Back in the day, we used mailing lists and phone trees. Don't you young folks laugh; it was what we had at our disposal, and it worked. You would be surprised how easy it can be to mobilize people when they see something tangible at risk. That map posted above is a very visual example of what is at stake.
> Start your offensive plan now - We started mapping every historical access route we knew of on the lands that were being closed. We fully intended to litigate every easement, whether recorded or prescriptive, if that is what it took (which it didn't). That got the attention of the Big Sky Lumber that this was not going to be an easy path ahead. I think, and their attorney who I knew in my professional life late confirmed, that this offensive plan played a part in the negotiations. Understanding of what challenges were ahead was something BSL had to consider in how they evaluated each of the options they were considering.
I hate to see this happening. I worry that the different political environment of today makes this infinitely more difficult than what we had 25 years ago. Yet, it is an opportunity to engage and do some great things for public lands. It will create some new groups and new leaders for these important issues. It will help sort out who is "with us or against us."
Please use this forum for anything helpful. And send me messages if you think our other platforms can be helpful in getting the word out.
elkduds
Well-known member
How would a concurrent corner crossing legislation impact this sale? Eventually there are more voters than land barons.
