exchange with Plum Creek. The Agreement 

 would provide for FWP to compensate DNRC 

 at the rate of $20,000 annually in exchange for 

 DNRC foregoing potential development 

 income on the subject sections. Land 

 management activities compatible with winter 

 range habitats — sustainable forestry, wildlife 

 management, and public recreation — would 

 continue. The Agreement would initially cover 

 10 years, during which the parties would work 

 toward a longer-term conservation lease, a 

 perpetual conservation easement, or another 

 appropriate binding agreement. 



Included in the Cooperative Management 

 Agreement are provisions for cooperative 

 timber management between DNRC and 



FWP. For example, timber harvest might be 

 deferred on DNRC land to provide thermal 

 cover in a key location for elk, and be 

 prescribed on a more compatible location for 

 habitat enhancement on FWP land. Because 

 this level of cooperation would likely be "above 

 and beyond" DNRC's current management 

 direction, the Agreement contains minimum 

 estimates of harvestable timber volume that 

 may be deferred for big game winter range on 

 DNRC land, and a commitment from FWP to 

 compensate state trust beneficiaries for the 

 loss of this potential revenue. The public 

 would be able to review each timber sale 

 proposal on the BCWMA, as provided for 

 under the Montana Environmental Policy Act 

 (MEPA). 



Table 2. Parcels in the BCWMA proposed for exchange between DNRC and Plum Creek 

 (Alternatives B and D) 



BCWMA Land Exchanges Draft Environmental Impact Statement 



Executive Summary - 5 



