Plum Creek’s Plans for Montana

By Matthew Frank, 10-22-08

Two of the biggest stories in Montana this year have involved the state’s (and the country’s) largest private landowner, Plum Creek Timber Co.

Plum Creek raised the ire of western Montana communities for its closed-door dealings with the Forest Service aimed at paving the way for residential development on Plum Creek’s timberlands, a potentially significant strain on county services, firefighting and wildlife.

Then the company and Sen. Max Baucus announced the Montana Legacy Project, a historic sell-off of timberlands to be conserved for perpetuity. The Nature Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land are buying 312,000 acres of Plum Creek land for $510 million, some of which will be transferred to federal and state agencies and other parcels to be managed for timber extraction to keep mills running.

The moves prove just how profoundly Plum Creek’s decision making affects Montana.

On Friday morning, at the New West conference, Plum Creek CEO Rick Holley will shed light on his company’s future plans. What is Plum Creek’s approach to real estate development? To what extent will it be a part of its business, and how is that affected by today’s down market? Can we expect the company to sell more land in Montana for conservation?

We hope you can join us for Holley’s keynote address and the many other speakers tackling the big stories in the Northern Rockies during our two-day conference, starting tomorrow in Missoula. Click here to learn more, and here to sign up.