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