Tarkio Land Exchange nearly complete

It took over three years, but the Tarkio Land Exchange, the final stage of the Alberton Gorge Land Exchange, is just a few signatures away from being completed, according to Greg Tollefson, a special projects coordinator for the Five Valley Land Trust.

"As we speak, we are just a couple of days away from having this thing summed up," Tollefson told the commissioners Wednesday. "It is my firm hope that by the dawn of the new year the land exchange will be done."

The Tarkio Land Exchange was a result of the Alberton Gorge Land Exchange, which culminated in 2004 with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks acquiring 320 acres along the Alberton Gorge - previously owned by Northwest Energy - in exchange for about 564 acres near Tarkio. In the exchange, the FVLT, a nonprofit conservation organization based in Missoula, took over ownership of the Tarkio property, which was previously owned by the Forest Service.

The Tarkio land had been used for many years by the community for hunting and other recreational activities, and they were concerned that if it was sold into private ownership they would lose access to it. With such a large percent of public land in the county, the county commissioners were also concerned about the loss of private land tax base, with the FWP acquiring the 320 acres along the Alberton Gorge.

The Tarkio Land Exchange addressed both of these concerns. In the exchange, the FVLT would transfer the Tarkio land to the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation in exchange for state-owned land in the county, which could be made available for private purchase and potential residential development.

In the Tarkio Land Exchange, the FVLT transferred four parcels of land totaling 581.8 acres, including 1.67 miles of river front property, to the DNRC in exchange for five parcels of land totaling 504.46 acres.

The four parcels exchanged to the DNRC not only include the 564 acres near Tarkio, but also the 11-acre Freezeout Gulch parcel, located on the Clark Fork River about seven miles downstream from Alberton, and the six-acre Cyr Bridge parcel, located on the north bank of the Clark Fork River.

The largest parcel the FVLT received in the exchange was the St. Regis parcel. The 200-acre parcel is located just north of St. Regis. The FVLT received two parcels near Sloway: the 42-acre Sloway Triangle parcel and the 53-acre Sloway Riverfront parcel. The FVLT also received a nearly 146-acre parcel near the Superior Airport and an about 63-acre parcel at Chute Gulch.

"Some of these pieces of ground are going to be sold right away," Tollefson told the commissioners. He said they had purchase agreements on Sloway Triangle. They had three potential buyers on the St. Regis parcel, and they plan to sell the Sloway Riverfront parcel to adjacent landowners.

County Commissioner Judy Stang wasn't completely satisfied with the value of the property going into private ownership. "I guess you need to take what you get. I guess it's better than nothing," she said at the meeting. "We're not completely happy, but you have to give and take. But we had to give more than we wanted."

After the meeting, Stang said she was hoping that more of the private property would be near the river. She said out of the five parcels only three are adjacent to the Clark Fork for a total of .6 miles of riverfront property, compared to the DNRC's 1.67 miles of riverfront property. She said if you look at the county, the riverfront property has the highest value.

"It wasn't apples for apples," Stang said of the exchange. She said the county had requested a parcel near Cayuse Creek in the exchange. She said that parcel had the most similarities with the Tarkio parcel exchanged to the DNRC.

Stang said with nearly 87 percent of Mineral County being public land, it was essential that the county get some private land for its tax base, but it was also important to keep the Alberton Gorge the way it was. "The real goal was to keep Alberton Gorge unique and I guess we did that," she said.

Tollefson said that the land exchange was accomplished because of the will of a lot of people. He said, because of the recreational uses and the natural attributes of the area, it was best that it be kept in the public hands. "Protecting and ensuring that it stays available to the public was important to us," he said.