GAO Letter re: Plum Creek Road Easements 10-10-08

For approximately one and a half years, Plum Creek Timber Company (PCTC) and the Forest Service (FS) engaged in backroom meetings to renegotiate their road rights-of-way agreements on thousands of miles of roads/millions of acres of land checkerboarded between FS and PCTC ownership.  During the spring of 2008 these negotiations became public and the entire process was slowed down as Senator John Tester (D-MT) took the lead in investigating the process.  Officials from Missoula County in Montana were also instrumental in challenging Plum Creek and the Forest Service over the proposed deal.

Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) joined Senator Tester in requesting a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation into the process and the legality of changing the intent and scope of road rights-of-way across public land.  On October 10, 2008, the GAO released an initial letter raising serious questions about whether or not the Forest Service and Plum Creek followed the law. That initial letter is available here.