Flathead Land Trust, with funding assistance from the Vital Ground Foundation, has closed on a 30-acre conservation easement in the North Fork of the Flathead that blocks up existing conserved lands and protects wildlife habitat for grizzly bears and a wide range of species. The Kalispell Daily Inter Lake reported that FLT had partnered with landowners Del and Linda Coolidge on the easement, which abuts a 1996 31-acre FLT easement. From the article: “(Original family owners) Betty and Pep Coolidge strongly advocated protection of open space for wildlife,“ the Coolidges said. “They would be proud to know that the property is now protected by a conservation easement with the Flathead Land Trust.“ For the Flathead Land Trust, the completed project adds to its efforts to conserve the open space wildlife habitat around Polebridge. “Sometimes, conserving a number of adjoining smaller parcels achieves the same conservation objective as conserving larger parcels of land,“ said Ryan Hunter of the Flathead Land Trust.
