The Washington-based timber giant Weyerhaeuser has agreed to sell its nearly 1,000 square miles of timberland in Montana to a private investment company for $145 million in cash.

The Flathead Beacon in Kalispell reports it's not yet clear how the transaction will affect land access in northwest Montana, and the sale is expected to be completed sometime next year.

A Weyerhaeuser official declined to comment, and a company press release did not disclose the name of the buyer or whether the buyer intends to manage the parcels for timber production or sell them off for private development.

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