BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Conservation groups say they have completed the purchase of vast swaths of western Montana land from Seattle-based Plum Creek Timber Co.
The Nature Conservancy and Trust for Public Lands on Wednesday said they had closed the last part of a three-phase deal involving more than 310,000 acres and costing $510 million.
Much of the land is being transferred to the U.S. Forest Service, after the federal government contributed $250 million to the deal.
Wednesday’s phase included an estimated 69,000 acres in the Swan Valley, Mill Creek and Seeley Lake areas. Prior phases included land in the Lolo and Rock Creek drainages.
