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The Montana Legacy Project is a three-phase purchase of more than of land owned by Plum Creek Timber in northwestern Montana. The land is within the counties of Missoula, Mineral, Lake and Powell. Land included in this purchase is within the Swan Valley, the upper Clearwater Valley near Seeley Lake, the Lolo Creek watershed, the Mill Creek area near the city of Missoula, Fish Creek, Petty Creek, Schwartz Creek, and in the Garnet Mountains between Potomac and Interstate 90.〔Montana Legacy Project ("MLP"), (FAQ )〕 The Nature Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land were asked to complete the purchase for a combined total price of $510 million,〔Dan Testa, "Nature Conservancy and Trust for Public Lands to buy 320,000 acres" (Flathead Beacon ) (June 30, 2008)〕 although the Project has revised this figure to $490 million.〔See MLP FAQ〕 The first phase was purchased in December 2008, the second in February 2009 and the third was scheduled for December 2010. The U.S. Federal Government appropriated $500 million to facilitate the purchase.〔Internal Revenue Bulletin: (2008-36 )〕 ==Financing== The project has been primarily funded through Qualified Forestry Conservation Bonds – a public financing mechanism created in the 2008 Farm Bill under the leadership of Montana Senator Max Baucus.〔MLP (FAQ )〕 The program enabled The Nature Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land to purchase forest lands either through the issuance of tax credit bonds or through direct federal grants. The bond program, however, contained such stringent project requirements that it was in fact only available to the Montana Legacy Project lands; the projects had to involve at least of land that partially bordered National Park land and that was subject to a native fish habitat conservation plan.〔Peter Schroeder, “Tax-Credit Forest Bonds Questioned by Market”, (THE BOND BUYER ), (August 26, 2008)〕 The Nature Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land, as 501(c)(3) charities, were made eligible to issue up to $500,000,000 of Qualified Forestry Conservation Bonds. This entitled them to a direct payment of $250,000,000 from the U.S. Federal Government: :"without regard to whether the issuer is subject to tax under Chapter 1 of the Code, the issuer may elect to be treated as having made a payment against that tax ... in an amount equal to 50 percent of the amount of the allocation. Under section 54B(h)(2)(A), the Secretary shall not use the deemed payment of tax as an offset or credit against any tax liability of the issuer but shall refund the deemed payment to the issuer."〔Internal Revenue Bulletin: (2008-36 )〕 John Boehner, while House Minority Leader, lambasted the bond program for disguising as a new tax conservation credit an earmark for Senator Baucus' home state.〔Peter Schroeder, “Tax-Credit Forest Bonds Questioned by Market”, (THE BOND BUYER ), (August 26, 2008)〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Montana Legacy Project」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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