LINCOLN n Plum Creek Timber Co. announced plans on Thursday to sell almost 41,000 acres scattered throughout the Blackfoot River Valley for $30 million to The Nature Conservancy.

In addition, the conservation organization has an option to purchase an additional 47,900 acres in the area within the next few years for approximately $38 million, bringing the total land deal to 88,700 acres for $68 million n an average of $766 per acre.

The non-profit Nature Conservancy plans to resell the large parcels to public and private entities, with the promise that the vast majority of the land would not be subdivided and turned into million dollar ranchettes.

"This certainly is our largest project in Montana, and potentially among the largest in the Conservancy's (52-year) history, said Jaime Williams, state director for The Nature Conservancy‘s Montana chapter. "The idea is to keep the land open and unfragmented. We would like to sell it in the largest parcels possible to preserve its important conservation values."

The Blackfoot River Valley generally flows westward from Rogers Pass and the Scapegoat Wilderness Area near Lincoln toward Helmville and Ovando. It's home to black and grizzly bears, elk, deer, mountain lion and lynx as well as nearly 235 bird species and native cutthroat and bull trout. Unlike many urbanized areas of Montana, the Blackfoot River Valley — consisting of about 1.5 million acres of public and private lands — is home to only about eight communities and 2,500 families.

Among the Plum Creek lands involved in the sale are 10,000 acres near Ovando Mountain and 8,000 acres in the Alice Creek area near Rogers Pass. Generally, the properties are part of a checkerboard pattern of ownership, ranging in size from a single section (640 acres) to 10,000 acres.

While the lands have been logged, and some of the property will continue to be "managed for timber," the purchase protects most of the acreage from turning into subdivisions and ranchettes, Williams said.

"The views of the Blackfoot valley are so striking, and you can really see the potential for large mansions going up there," Tina Kappel, Conservancy spokesperson, noted on Thursday. "That's not good for the character of the valley, because at this time it's completely rural."

The project was spearheaded by the Blackfoot Challenge, a group of private landowners, public agencies, and conservation groups that reside or work in the 1.5 million acre Blackfoot watershed. The group's goal is to maintain the traditional uses in the valley, including ranching, forestry, public access and wildlife habitat.

Jim Stone is a rancher near Ovando and chairman of the Blackfoot Challenge. He noted that the acquisition of the lands offers "a tremendous opportunity" for the local community to determine its future and protect their way of life.

As part of that future, the Blackfoot Challenge is developing a "disposition and management plan" to determine which lands will become public and which will be sold into private ownership.

The sale is expected to be finalized in January, and is the most recent land transaction for Plum Creek, which owns 1.4 million acres in Montana. Just two weeks ago, the company announced the completion of a $34 million, seven-year effort to protect 142,000 acres from development in the Thompson and Fisher river valleys of northwestern Montana. That conservation easement was the largest in Montana history.

However, unlike Thursday's announcement, Plum Creek retained ownership of the land in the Thompson and Fisher river valleys and could continue logging and timber management on those properties.

As Plum Creek acreage is being cleared of timber, the company is selling it off more often instead of waiting for the trees to grow back. For example, the company has subdivisions along Bitterroot Lake n on formerly logged land n listing from $84,500 per lot and 163 acres on Metcalf Lake in Lake County for just under $3 million.

But the vast majority of its holdings in Montana are still managed primarily for timber, and the deal announced Thursday is worth only about $700 per acre.

Kathy Budinick, Plum Creek spokesperson, said the company recognized that the Blackfoot River Valley is a special place, which is why the company sold 11,700 acres to the Nature Conservancy of Montana in 1996. She added that the company still owns about 194,000 acres in the Blackfoot Valley.

"We are constantly evaluating our land for growing timber, but also for a lot of other reasons," Budinick said. "When the Blackfoot Challenge approached us some time ago to ask us if we were interested in selling, we were pleased we could respond to them. … They were interested in a sale rather than an easement, so we worked with them to facilitate that."

The Nature Conservancy has a "no-net-profit" policy when selling land to public agencies, so the cost to any state or federal agency will reflect the Conservancy's purchase price and direct costs associated with each transaction. Potential agencies include the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, as well as Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Private buyers must pay the non-profit Conservancy at least the appraised market value.

Williams said about 50 percent of the property involved in Thursday's announcement is expected to be sold to private ownership, with the Blackfoot Challenge developing the plan for which parcels will go that route. No agreements with private buyers have been struck, and all private sales will be advertised and made available to the general public. Purchasers must be able to meet the conservation, community and financial objectives for each parcel.

In a press release issued by The Nature Conservancy, Blackfoot Challenge member Hank Goetz noted that the project is about cooperation and passion n passion for the land and the lifestyle of the valley n as well as making a commitment to the future.

"I think Plum Creek realized that they could contribute to the valley and the citizens if they worked with the Blackfoot Challenge and the Nature Conservancy," Goetz said. "And we're really grateful that they were able to sit down and work with us on this occasion because this will enable us to maintain the landscapes, maintain these rural lifestyles and values that people hold here in the valley."

Reporter Eve Byron can be reached at 447-4076 or by e-mail at eve.byron@helenair.com.