The Saturday, October 13, 2007 online edition of the New York Times carried an article on increased sales to private individuals of property on the margins of federal lands. A great deal of the story focuses on Montana and the Flathead Valley, in particular . . .

William P. Foley II pointed to the mountain. Owns it, mostly. A timber company began logging in view of his front yard a few years back. He thought they were cutting too much, so he bought the land.

Mr. Foley belongs to a new wave of investors and landowners across the West who are snapping up open spaces as private playgrounds on the borders of national parks and national forests.

Read the entire article . . .