Plum Creek Timber Co. has agreed to sell 117,152 acres around Placid Lake and the Gold Creek drainage northeast of Missoula to the Nature Conservancy for $85 million.

“They are among the most ecologically diverse and intact biological systems remaining in the United States,” Plum Creek spokeswoman Kate Tate said in a media release Monday afternoon.

The deal also includes 48,000 acres on both sides of Interstate 90 between Snoqualmie Pass and Ellensburg in western Washington, in the heart of the Cascade Range. Total cost of the sale is $134 million.

“This isn’t just Seeley Lake’s backyard,” said Nature Conservancy land manager Chris Bryant. “It’s Missoula’s backyard as well. It’s almost adjacent to the Rattlesnake Wilderness, and it touches some of the (Confederated Salish and Kootenai) Tribal Primitive Area by Jocko Lake. This landscape has cultural value for traditional resources, Native American uses, current hunting, and recreation. It’s a really important landscape for people, as well as wildlife. Now we’ve got to figure how to balance all that in a long-term ownership strategy.”

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The oldest living member of the Crow Tribe turned 101 years old Monday. Joe Medicine Crow, who was born Oct. 27, 1913, is the last remaining Crow war chief.

Medicine Crow is noted as a tribal historian, World War II veteran, anthropologist, author and 2009 recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The nation's highest civil honor was bestowed upon Medicine Crow by President Obama.

"As a warrior and living legend, history flows through Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow High Bird," Obama said in a 2009 statement. "Joe Medicine Crow is a symbol of strength and survival, and the United States honors him for his dedication to this country and to all Native Americans."

Medicine Crow was the first of his tribe to earn a master's degree, according to his biography posted on the Custer Battlefield Museum website.

He earned "War Chief" status for his service in WWII, as well as earning a bronze star for meritorious service.

Today, he continues to lecture on the Battle of Little Bighorn at Montana colleges.

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A picture of two bison walking near the Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park is among those featured in a recent international photo contest.

The photograph (above) by Lukas Gawenda helped secure his award as Highly Commended Photographer of the Year 2014 by the Society of Biology, a British group focused on life sciences.

The group holds and annual amateur photography competition. The theme of this year's contest was "habitat and shelter."

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