Swapping land for rapids
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Whitewater fans in Montana have won new life for a popular run threatened by a dam proposal. A seven-mile portion of the Clark Fork River received protection last week as part of an unusual land exchange that gives the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks ownership of the Alberton Gorge.
The river, west of Missoula, draws more than 25,000 rafters and kayakers per year. For a decade, boaters have battled NorthWestern Energy’s plans to build a dam on the river.
The energy company agreed last week to a complicated land exchange with the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the U.S. Forest Service, Five Valleys Land Trust of Missoula and the River Network involving 10 parcels of land throughout western and central Montana. The agreement guarantees the gorge’s permanent protection from development and provides public access to the 306 acres bordering the gorge that were previously owned by NorthWestern.
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-- Charles Duhigg
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