Montana include non-monetary factors or factors that have yet to be qualified in terms of dollars such as 

 biodiversity, protection of wildlife, water quality and air quality, and long-term integrity of the ecosystems 

 in the state. The impacts (positive or negative) on these factors from the proposed action are not covered 

 in the economic sections but are included in other sections of the environmental assessment. 



The final land exchange will be based on equal value. The State will reduce the parcels proposed for 

 land exchange so the value of State properties will be equal to or less than the properties proposed by 

 Plum Creek. 



WRITTEN COMMENT #7: 



The University of 



Montana 



Wildlife Biology Program 



School of Forestr>' 

 The University of Montana 

 Missoula, MT 59812-0596 



Phone: (406) 243-5272 

 FAX: (406) 243-4557 

 March 14,2001 



Region 2 Headquarters 



Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks 



Attention: Mike Thompson 



3201 Spurgin Road 



Missoula MT 59804 



Dear FWP Commission: 



I am writing to support the Phase II Land Exchanges of the 50 Anniversary Project for the Blackfoot-Clearwater 

 Wildlife Management Area. As I read the draft EIS, I thought of the long personal history I've had with the 

 BCWMA— about thirty-three years. I hunted there, and later went there on field trips as a U of M student with range 

 professor Mel Morris. He used the area as one of the best examples of a climax or near-climax grassland, and as an 

 example of excellent range management. During the 1970's and 1980's, I worked on the Chamberlain Creek Elk 

 Study, and some of our radio-collared animals occasionally used the adjacent BCWMA. In 1985, 1 became a 

 member of the teaching faculty at U of M, and I took my wildlife habitat classes on field trips to the BCWMA. Like 

 Mel Morris, I presented the area to my students as an example of excellent management practices. Still later, in the 

 1 990's I directed graduate student projects on the BCWMA in cooperation with Mike Thompson, and served on the 

 BCWMA Citizens Advisory Council. During those 30 plus years, I have seen the wintering elk herd on the 

 BCWMA increase from perhaps 200-300 animals to over 1,000. Since most of the herd is migratory, the BCWMA 

 provides critical winter range for animals that probably use over one million acres during the spring-summer-fall 

 months. 



I think the BCWMA is the most important, or certainly one of the most important areas for the long-term 

 conservation of elk in western Montana. It supports many mule and white-tailed deer, and numerous other wildlife 

 species as well. 



Over the years, 1 have been concerned about the long-term integrity of the BCWMA. 1 think the preferred 

 alternative (D) goes a long way toward ensuring the tremendous wildlife values of the BCWMA in perpetuity. 

 Certainly it will help secure an already very large investment by Montana's hunters. Personally, I would prefer the 

 plan if it included a conservation-easement on the traded DNRC lands. However, I trust that that, too, can be 

 accomplished in the near ftiture. 



BCWMA Land Exchanges Final Environmental Impact Statement 28 



