[1] The land will be managed more for public recreation, sustainable forestry and as wildlife habitat.

[5] 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.

[6] 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.

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.

[8]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.