Council OKs state plan to buy 27,000-acre ranch

Updated: Sunday, August 29, 2010 8:49 AM

HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- An advisory council endorsed a state plan Thursday to pay $16.5 million to buy and maintain a 27,000-acre ranch near Deer Lodge for hunting, fishing and recreation.

Members of the Natural Resource Damage Trustee Council voted unanimously to recommend the purchase, which must be approved by Gov. Brian Schweitzer. The governor instigated the proposal and has said he will move quickly to close the deal.

Funding for the proposal would come from the state Natural Resource Damage Program, which manages money aimed at replacing resources lost to mining in the region.

The money would be used to buy the land from the Rock Creek Cattle Company for $15.2 million. An additional $1.2 million would come from the fund for five years of operating and maintenance costs, plus $149,000 to lease 10,000 additional acres owned by the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation for 10 years, for a total price tag of about $16.5 million.

The parcel is the second largest intact native grassland west of the Continental Divide and is home to more than 1,000 elk in the winter, as well as 180 other wildlife species. The property is expected to become a Wildlife Management Area that will be open to hunters and others who want to recreate there.

But some say buying the Spotted Dog Ranch would be a misuse of money.

The money to purchase and maintain the property comes from a $130 million legal settlement with Atlantic Richfield Co (ARCO) that is meant to restore and replace environmental damage in the Upper Clark Fork River Basin. The parcel is within that basin, but some people who commented at Thursday's meeting noted that the fund has limits. They fear there won't be enough money to repair damaged resources in Anaconda and Butte.

"We agree it's spectacular property ... but the total amount is a large chunk of the remaining funds," said Chris Burke, a science director for the Clark Fork Coalition. "It's all we have for a really long list of needs in this basin for restitution projects."

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Information from: Independent Record, http://www.helenair.com