After the past few days of painfully bad news, it's a relief to start the new month with a story about government, NGOs and the private sector working together with positive results.

Thanks to the Qualified Conservation Forestry Bonds provision in the Farm Bill, the Nature Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land were able to buy about 500 square miles of forest currently owned by the giant land owner and timber company Plum Creek. They will transfer that land over to the federal government, primarily the Forest Service. The two groups couldn't shoulder the $510 million price tag alone, so the state of Montana, among other stakeholders, helped cover the cost.

The NFS already owns much of the land that was interspersed with the privately owned lots, and the deal will have numerous positive implications for the environment throughout western Montana. Not only will it prevent development in one of the few remaining sound ecosystems in the US and aid the NFS in its firefighting capabilities in the region, but it also creates more public land for hiking and recreation.

Logging will still continue over the next 15 years, with Plum Creek buying the wood at market value from the government. But, there will be less logging than if there had been no deal, and it will be certified sustainable by a third-party. All the wood will be processed in Montana mills, benefiting the local communities. Hmm, is there anyone who doesn't win in this deal?