Five Valleys Land Trust and Paraic & Becky Neibergs have teamed up to expand a previous conservation easement on Blackfoot Valley Neibergs property to a total of 436 acres through an effort named the Patterson Prairie Project.

     The Neibergs recently donated an additional 120-acre easement to an existing 315-acre easement, and also donated the project transaction costs. Additional community support enabled Five Valleys to complete project due diligence and facilitation. Five Valleys extended its gratitude to the Neibergs and organization supporters for helping them protect more of “this wild, interconnected, and scenic place.”

     A Five Valleys website report details the history of the property and the conservation values of the additional acres. From the website: The property lies between Ovando and Lincoln, just north of both the Blackfoot River and Highway 200. This location makes it both more vulnerable to potential development, as well as important for wildlife as they cross the highway coming to and from the river. And wildlife there is: everything from elk, moose, and turkeys to black and grizzly bears, lynx, wolves, and numerous smaller birds and mammals.                                                                  Five Valleys photo