Flathead Land Trust held series of “sneak preview” tours showcasing the conservation values of one of its premier ongoing projects – located at Bad Rock Canyon near Columbia Falls – on May 2, and the general reaction from the tour participants was: Wow! 

     FLT executive director Paul Travis (center), with project partners (left) Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (Kris Temple, habitat conservation biologist) and (right) the Flathead Lakers (Constanza von der Pahlen, critical lands director), provided a two-hour, four-mile tour of the property that showcased the wildlife habitat, connectivity, water quality, public recreation and open land benefits of the project. The Flathead River to Lake Initiative is another key project partner. 

     The project is close to the final stages of a $7 million fundraising campaign, and project partners hope to announce some exciting news about project progress later this year. Incredibly, the roughly 700-acre project, located along the Flathead River just outside of Columbia Falls, provides habitat protection for 43 species of special concern including grizzly bears. A Nov. 6, 2020 article has more info about the project.