unrelated land exchange, that Debby Dils was handling matters pertaining to the Blackfoot-Clearwater exchange on 

 behalf of the Department. As I told you on Friday, I was very surprised to learn when I spoke with Debby Dils on 

 Friday that the Draft Environmental impact Statement had been issued and that she thought that the Department of 

 Natural Resources and Conservation was in the final throes of preparing its decision notice. I never received a copy 

 of the Draft EIS nor to my knowledge was a copy received by anyone associated with Monroe Property Company, 

 and defmitely not by Ken Bryan, its manager. 



(page 2) 



As you know, Monroe Property Company is the lessee with respect to the state lease which includes approximately 

 310 acres in Section 18, T14N, R14W, Missoula County, Montana. The property is described as Lots 1-4, N'^NE'A, 

 SE'/4NE'/4, and NE^NW'X , Section 18. Monroe Property Company first learned of the potential plan regarding the 

 above-captioned exchange when a certified letter dated October 29, 1999 was directed to its Chicago address. By 

 the time the letter was directed to the attention of the responsible parties and returned to me, more than two weeks 

 had elapsed. I received the letter on November 19, 1999. Upon receipt of the letter, I immediately contacted you 

 and in fact, I spoke with you on Friday afternoon, November 19, 1999. At that time, you indicated that the State was 

 in the preliminary stages of putting together a land exchange analysis and that if the exchange were effected, that 

 you anticipated the State would expect Plum Creek to honor the existing leases for the remainder of the term. Later 

 you indicated grazing continuation would be a negotiated issue with Plum Creek. Monroe Property submitted 

 formal comments regarding the initial exchange proposal in the form of my letter directed to you of November 30, 

 1999. Our records reflect receipt by your Department of that letter midaftemoon on November 30. 



In my letter of November 30, 1999, 1 made the following statement in the first paragraph, to-wit: "As I indicated in 

 our recent telephone conversation, it would be helpftil in the future if correspondence to Monroe Property Company 

 regarding the possible land exchange between Plum Creek and the Department of Natural Resources and 

 Conservation and the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, could be directed to myself at the address below, as 

 well as to Ken Bryan, Manager of Paws Up Ranch. Ken's address is HC 70, Box 4, Greenough, Montana 59836. 

 Otherwise, the correspondence takes several days to return to Montana for review and response." 



I reiterated our desire to be kept informed regarding this matter in paragraph 3 of the second page of my letter when 

 I stated: "We understand that this possible exchange has been submitted to the Board of Land Commissioners for 

 informational purposes only and that it is in its preliminary stages, and that no exchange agreement has been 

 fmalized or approved. We understand that the matter will come before the Board of Land Commissioners in 

 December for preliminary authority to proceed and to investigate the exchange. We also understand that no 

 exchange will be finalized absent an environmental assessment, appraisal of the lands, public hearings and final 

 board approval. Obviously, we would like to be kept abreast of any developments which occur, including the 

 timetables for the aforementioned activities. If any summaries or reports are prepared for presentation to the Board 

 of land Commissioners, we would be most appreciative if a copy could be forwarded to us." 



(page 3) 



The next communication received regarding the exchange was your letter of May 25, 2000, again directed to 

 Monroe Property Company at its Chicago address. This letter advised that your office was involved in analysis of 

 the DNRC/PCT game range land exchange proposal and that you were requesting a response regarding license 

 improvements in order to appraise the property. Your letter of May 25, 2000 was in fact faxed to me on May 26*. 

 You had called me before sending the letter to advise that it was going out and asked whether I wanted a copy. 

 Obviously, in accord with our November, 1999 comments, I indicated I wanted a copy and I received the fax as 

 noted, as well as the hard copy on June 2, 2000. You called me on June 21, 2000 to advise that the original letter 

 which was mailed to Monroe Property Company in Chicago had been returned "undeliverable". I requested that you 

 change the mailing address to San Francisco and to Ken Bryan's address (the ranch manager identified in my 

 November 30, 1999 letter) to ensure that Ken and Monroe Property received communication in the matter. I noted 

 that so far only I had been copied with any inquiries. As you know, the June 2P' letter was redirected to Momoe 

 Property Company at its San Francisco address and a copy provided to Ken Bryan. 



BCWMA Land Exchanges Final Environmental Impact Statement 30 



