LIBBY - The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission has approved the second phase of a conservation easement that protects an additional 52,930 acres of private timberland between Kalispell and Libby.
The Montana Great Outdoors Conservation Easement now totals more than 85,000 acres of protected timberland after the first phase was approved last year.
Green Diamond Resource Company owns the land located in the Cabinet Mountains and will continue to use the property for timber production.
The conservation easement keeps the land in private ownership but guarantees the land can't be broken off and developed into subdivisions.
The easement also protects recreational access on the land for hiking, hunting and fishing.
The appraised value of the easement totals more than $57 million, with funding secured through the U.S. Forest Service's Forest Legacy Program and a $20 million donation from Green Diamond.
