Montana Outdoor Hall of Fame inductee Chris Marchion, from Anaconda, recently walked through the land – and walked a Montana Standard reporter through the story – of the most recent expansion of the Garrity Mountain Wildlife Management Area. The article details the history and conservation values of the property back to Teddy Roosevelt days, and ends with a final key piece still needed within the land management puzzle.
The article also contains this key paragraph: Mike Mueller of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation was central to the latest deal, and Marchion was among the conservationists who gained community support and funding to work out the deal with FWP and the landowners this go around. The Montana Land Board unanimously approved the deal this past summer, and the $1.5 million bulk of funding for the $1,711,500 purchase was provided by the NRDP. FWP Habitat Montana and the RMEF each put in $100,000, and $75,000 came from the Montana Fish & Wildlife Conservation Trust.