The successful cooperative conservation efforts by The Trust for Public Land and a group of conservation, timber industry, and public agency partners in northwestern Montana are featured in a terrific article in the Flathead Beacon. 

     The article covers western Montana forestland ownership and conservation for the past couple decades, but focuses on the conservation, forest health, and outdoor recreation results since Southern Pine Plantations bought 630,000 acres of Weyerhaeuser land in late 2019. Back in 2019, there was widespread concern about SPP’s land management intentions and potential impacts of the sale on western Montana ’s culture and economy. 

     “A collective shudder ran down all our spines, not just for those of us in the conservation community but also for land managers and the timber and outdoor recreation industries, because all those private lands have been de facto public lands for decades and they were suddenly at risk,” Dick Dolan, the Northern Rockies director for the nonprofit The Trust for Public Land, says in the article.  

     Since 2019 TPL has actively worked with SPP and partners on a series of projects to accomplish conservation and forest management goals.

     “Assuming all these projects are fully supported and eventually funded, over 333,000 acres would be open to the public for recreational access and continued forestry management operations in perpetuity,” Eric Moody, SPP’s land specialist, says. “While every acre isn’t protected, and some changes may come, many, many more acres are now protected or set up to be protected than at this point in 2020.”

     The plot thickened recently when SPP sold 125,800 acres to a “power couple” from Texas, named Mark and Robyn Jones. They have indicated an early willingness to work with conservation interests and Montana FWP on access, and the story on the 125,800 acres is still waiting to be told. But the tone of the article – rightfully so – is that the past 14 months have been surprisingly positive for the former Weyerhaeuser lands, and TPL is a big reason why.  

From a Kalispell Daily Inter Lake editorial: Last week longtime Whitefish residents John and Anne Collins announced they had finalized a conservation easement that permanently protects 672 acres along Whitefish Lake, including a massive 1.2 miles of undeveloped shoreline.

The forested land hugging Lazy Bay abuts a swath of Montana State School Trust Land.

Montana Land Reliance’s Mark Schiltz hit the target when he described the deal as one of the most important easements in the valley. Given the explosive growth taking place in the valley, “this couldn’t happen at a more important time,” he commented.

The conservation easement not only protects the land from future development, but it will help ensure the lake’s water quality stays pristine and keeps intact important fish and wildlife habitat.

It should be noted that in the early 2000s the Collins also placed their 480-acre property in the North Fork in a conservation easement.

The Flathead Valley certainly owes a tip of the hat to John and Anne for their long-term vision to make this corner of Montana a better place to live, work and play, for generations to come.

Western Rivers Conservancy is holding a live, online series named Great Rivers of the West that starts on March 3. Montana rivers will be featured on March 10. The episodes are free and start at 7:00 PM MST time.

From Western Rivers: On March 3, Western Rivers Conservancy will launch Great Rivers of the West, a live, online series featuring author and photographer Tim Palmer, who will take viewers on a visual journey to dozens of the best rivers in the western United States.

Each episode will feature an engaging, fast-paced slideshow with Tim, who will tell you what these rivers are all about: Where they begin, and where they flow, the fish that make them unique and the wildlife that depend on them, and how to experience them yourself, whether by boat or on foot, with binoculars, hiking poles or fly rod in hand.

     MALT participated in two recent Land Trust Alliance Zoom meetings – one with land trust state associations and the other with the Alliance Leadership Council – and one prominent topic on the state association call was the need for land trust participation in the 2021 National Land Trust Census. 

     The land trust census was launched on Jan. 4, and as of Feb. 10 185 census responses have been received by the Alliance. Participation in the census is important because it is the only comprehensive survey of private land conservation in America. Census data directly informs how land conservation is understood by the public, including policymakers, journalists, researchers, state associations and other partners at the state, local and national levels.

     New to the 2021 census are questions about trails, partnerships, universal access, and number of people served, while (good news) the census survey itself is 25% shorter than the 2015 census. Land trusts should expect another Alliance census email reminder on March 3, a final reminder on March 25, with a deadline of March 31. Release of census results is expected by November. 

     Other major topics covered in the two meetings were congressional and policy updates on issues such as conservation easement syndication and Farm Bill, an update on the Relevance Campaign, and a stirring tribute to Joselin Matkins, who was a member of the leadership council. 

The application deadline for the 2021 Montana Leopold Conservation Award – one of conservation’s most prestigious awards – is set for March 15. The Montana portion of the national award is presented by the Sand County Foundation in partnership with American Farmland Trust and state partners the State of Montana and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation’s Rangeland Resources Committee.

     The award is based on five criteria outlined as:

     1. Conservation Ethic – Describe how the nominee has voluntarily exceeded the minimum obligations of regulation to enhance and conserve natural resources.     

     2. Resilience – Describe the business and conservation methods used by the nominee to make the operation productive into the future. 

     3. Leadership and Communication – Describe significant efforts the nominee has made to share his/her conservation ethics and techniques with others inside and outside of agriculture. Describe community service, positions held, leadership roles and media outreach. 

     4. Innovation and Adaptability – Describe how the nominee has taken risks by utilizing or experimenting with new techniques to adapt to change (consumers, markets, weather, regulations, etc.). 

     5. Ecological Community – Describe how the nominee’s agricultural operation works with natural systems (soil, water, plants and wildlife, etc.). Describe how this benefits others.

     The previous two Montana award recipients, 2020 recipients Craig and Connie French (left) and 2019 Bill and Dana Milton (right) both have strong land conservation and land trust connections.  

     From the application information: Sand County Foundation proudly presents the Leopold Conservation Award to private landowners dedicated to leaving their land better than how they found it. They exemplify the spirit of Leopold’s land ethic.

      A group of respected Montana farmers and ranchers submitted an op-ed to statewide newspapers last week encouraging support for the partnerships and public funding that help conserve private lands.

     “If we are to protect the Montana product by conserving working lands and supporting the stewardship they perform, increased public investment is needed,” the op-ed reads. “We could start by enhancing the partnerships and tools that have gotten us this far. For example, conservation districts and watershed groups like Blackfoot Challenge, The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance or Winnett ACES continue to facilitate local stewardship of natural resources and wildlife. Yet, these collaborations consistently struggle to find adequate operational capacity. Voluntary, incentive-based tools like purchased conservation easements have helped keep millions of Montana acres intact for people and wildlife, yet demand far exceeds available funding.”

     The op-ed was signed by Heath Martinell of Dell, Leo Barthelmess of Malta, Denny Iverson of Potomac, Jeff Reed of Emigrant, and Laura and Levi Nowlin of Winnett.

     “New solutions are also needed…” the op-ed continues. “The continued stewardship of working lands is the foundation of the Montana economy, and yet our state needs to adequately support that stewardship. We look forward to working together.” 

      A new study released by the Flathead Lake Biological Station and Whitefish Lake Institute indicates that the clean water in Whitefish and Flathead lakes accounts for $3 billion in property value alone and $25 million in annual property taxes for state and local governments.  

     The study shows the value of homes on the two lakes, but in reality illustrates the incredible importance of maintaining clean water in the two popular lakes.   

     “These study results provide us with an economic argument in communicating the importance of maintaining water quality and our work,” Lori Curtis, science education director for the Whitefish Lake  Institute, said in the article. The Whitefish Lake Institute focuses on science, education and community stewardship to protect and improve Whitefish Lake and nearby water resources.

     The study only examines property values, not the economic contributions of fishing, boating, lodging, vacation spending, and other outdoor forms of recreation on the two lakes.

Big news…The Montana Land Reliance and Collins family team up to maintain open land and conserve large section of Whitefish Lake shoreline: “The easement allows us to manage our timberland to promote forest health and maintain species diversity while providing important habitat for all types of wildlife,” said John Collins.

Montana Land Reliance (MLR) Western Manager Mark Schiltz said the new easement is the largest ever completed on Whitefish Lake, and its finalization marks a rare occasion on a waterfront that is more desirable than ever.

“This project represents one of the most important conservation easements in the Flathead Valley and MLR is honored to partner with the Collins family to help make this happen,” Schiltz said.

     The 30 x 30 goal – 30% of America’s land and water protected by 2030 – a Land Trust Alliance goal for over a year, is gaining traction. 

     A fact sheet outlines an array of executive actions to “tackle the climate crisis at home and abroad, create jobs, and restore scientific integrity across the federal government.” Among the many proposed actions within the fact sheet is this one: The order commits to the goal of conserving at least 30 percent of our lands and oceans by 2030 and launches a process for stakeholder engagement from agricultural and forest landowners, fishermen, Tribes, States, Territories, local officials, and others to identify strategies that will result in broad participation.

     In a news release the LWCF Coalition said: The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Coalition today hailed the Biden administration’s executive order addressing climate and environmental justice challenges and calling for the protection of 30 percent of America’s lands and oceans by 2030 (30 x 30). These goals will rely heavily on LWCF, one of the nation’s premier conservation and outdoor recreation tools, to help fuel a targeted and robust land-based response from America’s inner cities to remote wildlands. LWCF Coalition partners and supporters have joined with the American Nature Campaign along with hundreds of conservation organizations, businesses, national leaders, state and local officials, and leading scientists in support of the 30 x 30 initiative.

     Andrew Bowman, president & CEO of the Land Trust Alliance, said: President Biden’s executive order calling for conservation of at least 30 percent of the U.S. land base by 2030 is one the Land Trust Alliance applauds. This is an audacious and timely conservation challenge that requires the conservation of millions of acres of land in private ownership. The nation’s land trusts are ready and willing to help private landowners conserve their lands at this ambitious scale.

     While some land trust organizations formally support the 30×30 program, the Montana Association of Land Trusts membership as an organization has never voted to endorse or support the 30×30 proposal.

     The NRCS and NCAT are sponsoring the first Soil Health Innovations Virtual Conference on March 8-9.  Registration is open now.

    Soil health has emerged as a central theme in conversations about the future of American agriculture. Soils have become a focal topic due to new scientific understanding, the application of emerging technologies, and a growing interest among producers and policymakers in improving climate resilience and mitigating emissions.

      The Soil Health Innovations Conference will live-stream speakers and panels and include real-time chats with exhibitors and sponsors, producers, industry professionals, educators, and students who are at the cutting edge of soil health across the country. Contact Alyssa Ness at alyssan@ncat.org or Sandra Booth at sandrab@ncat.org for info.