Construction is booming along Pine Forest Road. That area sits a quarter mile north of the Interstate 10 exchange.

More than 44 million acres of pine trees there, an area the size of Missouri ... At the turnoff to a forest road not far from Butte a sign says, “Keep Montana green.” Six laughs mordantly.

Red pine is a shade intolerant, long-lived species and is one of the most genetically uniform forest trees, reaching heights of 60 to 150 feet. It’s latin name quite literally means the pine that ...