Land for Sale in Lincoln County, MT
Lincoln County is Montana's far northwest corner: 3,675 square miles with 19,677 residents (2020 census), about 5 per square mile, with Libby as its seat, Lake Koocanusa behind Libby Dam and the Kootenai National Forest. Land is forest, lake and river acreage. Libby and Troy are also the site of a federal asbestos cleanup, and that affects any property near them, so this guide covers it.
Lincoln County at a glance
- County seat: Libby. Cities: Libby and Troy; Eureka and Rexford are towns.
- 2020 population 19,677; about 3,675 square miles; about 5.4 people per square mile.
- Lake Koocanusa, formed by Libby Dam, extends into British Columbia; part of the Kootenai National Forest is in the county.
- US Highway 93 serves the county.
- The Libby Asbestos Superfund Site covers Libby and Troy; Montana DEQ took over operation and maintenance for the residential and commercial areas.
The Lincoln County land market
Buyers look for forest acreage, hunting and fishing parcels, lake and river lots and homesites around Libby, Troy and Eureka. Parcels with Lake Koocanusa or river access tend to cost more than remote forest tracts. Long winters and distance to services are normal here.
The Libby Asbestos Superfund Site
Libby and Troy are part of the Libby Asbestos Superfund Site, a cleanup of vermiculite and asbestos contamination from the former vermiculite mine near Libby. EPA's site profile reports that it has cleaned more than 2,600 homes and businesses in Libby and Troy, and that the former mine and the forest near it were the last areas needing remediation. Several parts of the site have been deleted from the National Priorities List, and Montana DEQ took over operation and maintenance for the residential and commercial areas of Libby and Troy.
The cleanup did not remove everything. EPA's remedy for the residential and commercial areas left some asbestos in subsurface soil at depth and encapsulated some in places that could not be reached. So Lincoln County runs institutional controls through its Asbestos Resource Program: before you dig, remodel or demolish, contact the program so it can check whether the property was cleaned and whether the work could disturb the remedy. If you are buying in or near Libby or Troy, ask the program what it has on the parcel, ask a Montana real estate attorney about disclosure, and confirm the current status of each cleanup area with DEQ and EPA.
Subdivision, wells and access
In Montana, a division of land that creates a parcel under 160 acres that is not a one-quarter aliquot part of a survey section is generally a subdivision (MCA 76-3-103), so ask the county whether a parcel was legally created and what water source it has. Many forest roads are private or unmaintained, so confirm recorded legal access and winter plowing. Wildfire and snow are factors.
Before you buy land in Lincoln County
- Whether the parcel is in the Libby Asbestos Superfund Site, and what the Asbestos Resource Program has on file.
- Contact the program before any digging, remodeling or demolition.
- Legal access, road maintenance and winter conditions.
- Well, septic and power, and subdivision status.
- Wildfire exposure, and boundaries with national forest land.
How to verify legal access to landLand due diligence checklist
Frequently asked questions
Is land in Libby, Montana contaminated?
Libby and Troy are part of an EPA Superfund site for vermiculite and asbestos. EPA reports it cleaned more than 2,600 homes and businesses, but some asbestos was left in place, so owners should contact the Lincoln County Asbestos Resource Program before digging, remodeling or demolishing.
Who oversees the Libby cleanup now?
EPA led the cleanup, and Montana DEQ took over operation and maintenance for the residential and commercial areas of Libby and Troy.
What is Lake Koocanusa?
A reservoir formed by Libby Dam that extends into British Columbia, Canada.