Saturday July 5, 2008, 9:56 am
Just what Montana - and the rest of us - need - more ugly, expensive homes, more encroachment in the Crown of the Continent ecosystem, home to grizzlies and other endangered species as well as glacier valleys, lakes and rugged forest land. More roads, enabling major water runoff. Gated communities for the super-rich. Don't it make ya wanna cheer, folks? THANKS, GEORGE, YOUR CORRUPT SOULLESS B**TARD!

Saturday July 5, 2008, 10:16 am
people have no jobs they are in india,china how are they paying for it

Saturday July 5, 2008, 10:27 am
honeysuckle, these are houses for the RICH RICH RICH...read the story. It talks about the type of people who typically buy houses in this area...LOTS start at $100,000.

Saturday July 5, 2008, 10:31 am
Scumbags!

Saturday July 5, 2008, 10:46 am
Do as much damage as they can before they leave...I second the SCUMBAGS vote Joycey!!! Cate thanks for informing us and educating!

Saturday July 5, 2008, 11:21 am
Arrrrggggghhhhhhhhhhhh,.... how much more damage can this one man do ?????

Saturday July 5, 2008, 11:55 am
Noted thanx Cate I agree. Blessings

Saturday July 5, 2008, 12:15 pm
Trees are essential to the ecology of the earth! When will these people realize that we are sealing our own doom when forests are destroyed?

Saturday July 5, 2008, 12:55 pm
What Michael said.
Noted with sadness and frustration.

Saturday July 5, 2008, 1:05 pm
I was sitting here mulling over this news and I suddenly remembered that Grand Teton National Park was only made possible because the Rockefeller family saw the land and thought it was worth preserving as open space. The donated the land to the country and Truman signed the bill creating the park.

Now, Goddess knows the Rockefellers were robber barons of the highest order, but at least they did the whole country and the environment a favor by buying up and donating the open land for this beautiful national treasure. Why doesn't some modern-day robber-baron-turned-philanthropist - oh, let's say, Bill Gates - invest a billion or so in this land and preserve it for the people, the wildlife and the ecosystem?

But oh no...he's too busy buying off Congress to give him thousands more H-1B visas so he can import more slave labor from India to work at Microsoft for thousands less than he'd have to pay the thousands of well-qualified, unemployed AMERICAN technology workers.

Saturday July 5, 2008, 1:09 pm
noted, very depressing

Saturday July 5, 2008, 1:09 pm
Wouldn't it be lovely for a huge tree to just fall on top of Bush sometime in the near future.

The man is a disgrace to all of what nature is all about!!!!!!!!

PLANT TREES FOR LIFE...............

Saturday July 5, 2008, 1:12 pm
While most of us continue to cinch up our belts with our dwindling finances others hemmorage money out their backsides to build a second home they can escape to once or twice a year....meanwhile trees are destroyed,land leveled and wildlife shuffled to survive outside their familar territories...when ( not if) the economy goes to hell the houses will be sold, or tossed off as owner file for bankruptcy...the land will eventually heal itself unless someone thinks they can make a profit off the dirt....This area is breathtaking....what a shame......

Saturday July 5, 2008, 1:29 pm
doesn't this make you so, so sad?... i don't think people like the rockefellers even exist any longer with money... now people with money can only think about me, me, me... i, i, i... my, my, my... our society has become so morally bankrupt it is pathetic... are there even philanthropists around anymore?... noted...:(

Saturday July 5, 2008, 1:31 pm
Well, Christine, to be fair, Gates has set up an Aids foundation to help Africans. But what has he done for the American people lately?

Saturday July 5, 2008, 1:59 pm
I's just hard to comprehend how people don't recognize the connection between the land and the creatures and the humans - that we are all on a continuum - that we are all part of the same grand planet, the same ecosystem.

How is it that some people can view themselves as totally apart from the world in which they live? It blows my mind....

Saturday July 5, 2008, 3:04 pm
noted thanks cate for posting. this is so sad :( too much to comment anymore,

Saturday July 5, 2008, 3:12 pm
I think I am gonna be sick.

Saturday July 5, 2008, 3:26 pm
after doing a brief reurch and I do mean brief- it seems to me that if we are interested in preserving these things then we or some one who has the money or someone who can speak for us such as an organization, or if every member here donated a dollar or 10 dollars we would have enough money to BUY these lands up for sale and hold them in reserve for animal protection,land protection ect.If we the people do not buy these lands then they the corps, will- I am off to do more research -Blessings

Saturday July 5, 2008, 3:26 pm
There are options:

That same impulse drives a different kind of land deal in the area: The buyers are the Nature Conservancy and other organizations that purchase desirable private land to preserve it. Since 2000, the groups have paid Plum Creek market rates to secure 280,000 sensitive acres in Montana alone.

Another 320,000 acres are being preserved under a provision that Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) forced into the farm bill, which survived President Bush's veto. The measure includes $250 million to back bonds to buy Plum Creek lands that otherwise might be developed.


Much better idea than providing for "third and fourth" homes!!!!!!

Thanks Cate :)

Saturday July 5, 2008, 3:33 pm
Would have been a little better if the FS could have traded access for some of that timberland.

"Now that Plum Creek is getting out of the timber business, we're kind of missing the loggers." "A clear-cut will grow back, but a sub-division of trophy homes, that's going to be that way forever." Well, DUH, dumdums.

As mills and timber companies get squeezed out by lack of timber access, due at least in part to the FS offering hardly any timber sales anymore, this is what you are going to see more and more of when timber companies stop logging their lands and start thinking of them in terms of real estate instead of timber resources.

Saturday July 5, 2008, 3:46 pm
This is so so sad I so hate my family farm to be sold and probably to the coal Company!I would at least like an acre or two to save for the children AND ANIMALS!

Saturday July 5, 2008, 3:49 pm
We are not ever going to have peace and traquiltiy as long as Herr Bush and the thugs he appointed are still in office. He will do whatever it takes to continue to destroy our environment, our State Parks, our Forests, and whatever else he can steal from us if he can. Our fearless leaders in Congress and the Senate are the only one's who have the authority to stop the lunatics running the government. Even when Herr Bush is out of office I seriously doubt we will ever see the last of him. He is a black mark in our history and there's no eradicator that has been developed to erase this "black mark." Is it November yet?

Thanks Cate.

Saturday July 5, 2008, 3:52 pm
Or you can forget about the government and take personal action - support some of those organizations, like the Nature Conservancy, mentioned above.

http://www.nature.org/

Saturday July 5, 2008, 4:10 pm
I get sick each time I see how our dictator Bush is destroying the land and the people. We can vote these republicans out ASAP. We can speak up. That is why I will do everything I can to make a change...Obama.
We are the ones who will get us back to WE THE PEOPLE. Do it.

Saturday July 5, 2008, 4:16 pm
Why are the rich buying homes and land so far north? Do you think it could be that THEY KNOW the impending danger of Global warming and Climate Change in the very near future(already occuring in many places, but the Mainstream media is not inclined to scare the $%#@ out of you ,YET?), and are getting prepared? The Rich are not buying land in the Keys or Malibu, or palm springs or any where too south, thats for sure. FOLLOW THE SIGNS TO AWAKEN, OBSERVE, DON"T JUST WATCH, TO BECOME AWARE. We all know these guys are bought and paid for, I wonder why we are still suprised when they keep $$%^^& US? Spread the word but please don't spread fear, then you unknowingly help THEM. There is nothing to fear, America and other contries are more informed and mentally prepared than those cocky $%^holes know, luckily. It is there certainty that will be their demise......Thx Cate!

Also, this Mark Rey(Forest Service) guy, is a real GARBAGE CAN!. I have been tracking his activities off and on for 16 months now, he works INTENTLY on giving up all the land, etc. that he can for his corporate and governmental "bosses". Some of them don't know that they are doing wrong, this guy enjoys his work! He has very little time to switch sides, although its not too late to switch to the winning side, YET! WE STILL WELCOME ALL!

Excerpt from article_
"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. "

"We have 40 years of Forest Service history that has been reversed in the last three months," said Pat O'Herren, an official in Missoula County, which is threatening to sue the Forest Service for forgoing environmental assessments and other procedures that would have given the public a voice in the matter"

Saturday July 5, 2008, 4:24 pm
The "Denialists" call us "alarmists" with disdain, lol. I like the name, most people can't wake up with out an ALARM these days! RRRRRRING , WAKE UP PLEASE! OUR PLANET IS DYING.........NEEDS OUR HELP!

Saturday July 5, 2008, 5:00 pm
Oh how very sad, that with his last breath in office, Bush is first, last, and always about the almighty dollar. I hope the people in Montana scream their heads off, and petition the forest service until their computers crash.....would sign petitions myself! Thanks for info, Cate.

Saturday July 5, 2008, 5:08 pm
The rich are buying homes in the north because the land is still relatively unspoiled and unpeopled and they already have homes in Florida or Palm Springs.

Saturday July 5, 2008, 5:49 pm
Donni- Gee, thx for clarifying, lol.

Saturday July 5, 2008, 5:58 pm
You're so welcome, Serge.

Saturday July 5, 2008, 6:27 pm
Cate, why I am I not the least
bit surprised at this?
Yet another "closed-door deal",
and We The People get screwed
yet again.
Especially these poor people in
Montana who live near where these
damnable sub-divisions are going
to ugly-up the scenery. I really
feel for those folks!
The only possible bright side I can
see here is that this will get tied
up in Federal Court for so long, it
may never happen.

Thanks, Cate.
noted.

Saturday July 5, 2008, 6:34 pm
One thing to remember folks - this is not a "done deal". Before development takes place, there is ampel environmental review which must be considered. Does anyone know if there are endangered species on the property - if so, there will be more review. The point I am making is DON'T GIIVE UP just yet...I am sure this is not the last we will hear regarding this project...

Saturday July 5, 2008, 6:36 pm
I'm with you Chris! Never give up on the Planet!

Saturday July 5, 2008, 6:51 pm
We can all go pitch tents on the timber roads that arre public lands that they would need to access and pave to haul their supplies and materials through. Public land and it's up to the public to defend it.

Saturday July 5, 2008, 8:46 pm
We moved from Montana over a years ago...why? California developers had started moving into the area in 2000. small communities once prized are overun by big expensive homes..wages so low that the locals are being chased out of generational lands and vacant land being bought up by developers like its candy.
No jobs above 6 dollars an hour..and its a "right to work state"...anyone understand the definition of "right to work"?
One of the meanings being that if you are forced to leave the state of Montana due to no work, that moving is no excuse to collect unemployment from Montana. Up...you pay into the system that keeps your money....among other bad laws not keeping up with the life long residents that are being forced out..jobs my sorry butt. NOT.
and beautiful wild lands being developed to death....

Saturday July 5, 2008, 10:30 pm
This strikes a nerve. The fact that the head of the forestry service was a lobbiest for the logging industry shows what Bush thinks of the sacred trust he has plundered.

Sunday July 6, 2008, 8:06 am
There must be something we all, as Americans, can do? Some form of coalition to bring pressure on the FS or on Sierra Club or Nature Conservancy to keep these lands in the public trust? SOMETHING!!!! This cannot be allowed to proceed.

Sunday July 6, 2008, 8:20 am
Just when you think this succubus can't do any more damage, there he is again. Someone suggested he be castrated with a butter knife but I think that's too good for him. Of course, if Congress had any guts, he wouldn't be getting away with so much. So, it looks as if it's all up to us....

Sunday July 6, 2008, 1:34 pm
How many children do you have? Do you support granting amnesty to illegal aliens?

The case can be made that we are not taught wealth - we do not know what to do with our money. I am working with Robb Report, I have written a number of times about what to do with money.

One idea is to recommend buying private property and converting it into a park, non-profit.

I have also recommended to Robb Report that people with money invest in hybrid vehicle, and wind and solar to charge the batteries. I wrote that this would give people independence.

Sunday July 6, 2008, 10:22 pm
I read what Tim Redfern said! I pray that is the case! I have lived in Montana for 20 years now and this is home to me~! This is TERRIBLE NEWS! Out of the lower 47 states I have been to, this is my favorite state and my home and to see this GORGEOUS STATE AND WILDLIFE JUST TRANSFORMED IS HORRIFIC to me! Yes, I've seen the native Montanans pushed out due to California developers (as Wolfweeps J) stated putting in expensive homes which look like they belong in California, NOT MONTANA!!! Native Montanans cannot afford these homes on our wages and they know it! We love our wildlife and our beautiful "wide open spaces" which so many of us call "God's Country", BUT, HERE AGAIN, BUSH IS DABBLING INTO MONTANA NOW! GO FIGURE! AND WE LOVE WHERE IT IS SO UNPOPULATED COMPARED TO OTHER STATES..WHICH MAKES IT SO BEAUTIFUL FOR AWESOME ANIMALS AND PEOPLE LIVING IN BIG SKY COUNTRY! BUT AS CHRIS OTAHAL SAID..IT'S NOT A DONE DEAL, AS THERE ARE A LOT OF NATURE CONSERATION ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE TRULY OPPOSED TO THIS BIG TIME! SO FAITH AND PRAYERS ARE IN ORDER FOR SURE HERE AND STRENTH AND ACTION IN NATURE CONSERVATION ORGANIZATIONS AS WAS MENTIONED AND SUPPORTERS "GALORE"!!!!!! WE MUST PROTECT MONTANA AND ITS WILDLIFE AND EXACTLY WHAT IT STANDS FOR...ITS' TRUE BEAUTY...DEFINITELY NOT "CITIFYING" IT....THAT'S NOT THE MONTANA WAY! AND FOR GOD'S SAKE...DON'T PUSH OUT OUR BEAUTIFUL WILDLIFE FOR GAUDY EXPENSIVE HOMES...BOTTOM LINE AGAIN..ALL ABOUT MONEY AND GREED~! GO FIGURE~SO TYPICAL OF THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION!

Monday July 7, 2008, 12:07 am
NOTED AND PRAYING

Monday July 7, 2008, 3:14 am
This is where I live also and this really gets my blood boiling! I happen to live by a camping spot and last year they had tons of forest service from all over the country staying at the rv park. They were in the mountains taking a basic survey of the amount of trees. The governor never answered my emails about that so I am guessing they are planning on some heavy logging too. Gates has a hugh home in Bozeman on the ski mountain with a heated driveway, by the way. Now there is a guy staying at the camp that I heard talking to a lady and he is doing exploratory drilling! My guess is the idiots in the Bush administration have pegged Montana for logging, drilling, and more expensive homes for the rich! Montana is on it's way down as far as I can see! It is true that lots of very rich people buy places all over Montana. So far, there's still some peace and wildlife in most places.

Monday July 7, 2008, 9:48 am
If this happens, I can't help but wonder if the grizzly bears will
like the taste of the rich folks who move in.If man continues to
destroy nature someday nature just might fight back. Grizzly country
should remain grizzly country. If you go there to build a fancy house
and get eaten by a bear I won't feel sorry for your butt.

Monday July 7, 2008, 2:29 pm
This brings to mind something I've heard. It goes "If it's Public it Ours, Private it's theirs". One of these days we'll learn to keep public land public and stop selling off our natural resources.

Monday July 7, 2008, 4:00 pm
Capitalism is a malignant cancer on the earth,slowly spreading via consumption. As the planets 6 billion consumers becomes 10 billion, then 15 billion all that will remain is us to consume each other.

Tuesday July 8, 2008, 12:35 am
Remember Frank....Soilent Green is people!

Tuesday July 8, 2008, 6:46 am
Noted, with deep sadness.

Wednesday July 30, 2008, 2:57 pm

Bush has to pay Halliburton and his friend with Blackwater somehow.
Another aspect of this kind of tragedy is that these wealthy homes won't even likely be a permanent residence for the ri$h. Just another file in their portfolios and p.t. summer home and tax write off.