Closed-Door Deal Could Open Land In Montana – Forest Service Angers Locals With Move That May Speed Building

The Bush administration is preparing to ease the way for the nation’s largest private landowner to convert hundreds of thousands of acres of mountain forestland to residential subdivisions.

The deal was struck behind closed doors between Mark E. Rey, the former timber lobbyist who oversees the U.S. Forest Service, and Plum Creek Timber Co., a former logging company turned real estate investment trust that is building homes. Plum Creek owns more than 8 million acres nationwide, including 1.2 million acres in the mountains of western Montana, where local officials were stunned and outraged at the deal.

By Karl Vick
Washington Post Staff Writer

Full Story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/04/AR2008070402772.html