Legals March 27, 2019

LEGAL NOTICE Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) is recommending that the Fish and Wildlife Commission approve the amendment to the Thompson-Fisher Conservation Easement (EA) which would remove 1.63 acres of developed land and replace it with 5 acres of undeveloped, upland and riparian habitat along the Little Thompson River as proposed in Alternative B, the Proposed Action, of the environmental assessment (EA). FWP released the draft EA for public comment from February 13 through March 15, 2019. Four comments were received and only one issue was raised which was to improve the detail of the map for the parcels being removed from the conservation easement. An appendix with more detailed maps was added to the EA document. The proposed land exchange and accompanying CE amendment will resolve an encroachment issue on the CE land. The developed land on the CE involves seven different parcels of State School Trust Land managed by DNRC. Each parcel is adjacent to the conservation easement and lies within the Thompson River valley. The DNRC parcels are leased for cabin sites and they include various structures or other improvements that encroach onto the CE. Weyerhaeuser has agreed to remove the 1.63 acres of developed land from the easement and add 5 acres of undeveloped land which is adjacent to existing CE land, for a net gain to the easement property of 3.37 acres. The 5-acre parcel to be added to the CE is currently managed by Weyerhaeuser as forestland and this proposal will ensure that it will be managed in the same manner in the future. No immediate changes in land use would occur because of this amendment either on the land removed from or added to the CE. No money would be exchanged to complete the proposed amendment. Copies of the decision notice are available at the FWP office, 490 N. Meridian Rd., Kalispell; Montana State Library, 1515 E 6th Ave., Helena; FWP State Headquarters, 1420 E 6th Ave., Helena; the FWP website at http://fwp.mt.gov/news/publicNotices/decisionNotices/; and available for viewing at local libraries. If you have any questions regarding this project or the draft environmental assessment, please contact Kris Tempel at ktempel@mt.gov or via phone at (406) 751-4573. Published in the Clark Fork Valley Press on March 27, 2019. MNAXLP