Bitter Root Land Trust’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) proposal has been approved nationally by the NRCS, which opens the door to up to nearly $5 million in NRCS funding over five years, matched by over $8.6 million in other leveraged funds for Bitterroot Valley landowner-driven conservation in Ravalli County.

In an April 16 announcement, the NRCS reported the Farm Bill’s RCPP 2020 allocations funded 48 projects in 29 states with $206 million in NRCS funding leveraging nearly $300 million in other funds.

“I’m excited to announce the first RCPP awards under the 2018 Farm Bill,” said Tom Watson, NRCS State Conservationist for Montana. “Through collaboration and aligning our resources toward a common goal, we’re making an impact for natural resource conservation that could never have been realized on our own.”

The RCPP offers applicants and program participants incentives to build partnerships around innovative resource and conservation solutions for farms, ranches, wildlife habitat and more. The Montana NRCS website also features a RCPP announcement. The Ravalli Republic Sunday edition also featured the RCPP announcement.

Within the NRCS April 16 announcement is a multimedia presentation that shows the location of all 48 approved applications with a short summary of each proposal. Here’s the summary for the Bitterroot Conservation Connectivity RCPP: Bitter Root Land Trust proposes to use conservation easements to protect small but critical properties that possess significant conservation values in the Bitterroot Valley. Preservation of these properties will help protect prime agricultural land, improve soil health and enhance habitat connectivity for the abundant wildlife in the Bitterroot. The partnership intends to target beginning farmers and ranchers using a buy-protect-sell approach, allowed under RCPP’s flexible easement approach. 

 MALT extends enthusiastic congratulations to Gavin Ricklefs, Kyle Barber and the entire staff and board of BRLT for its determination and hard work throughout a lengthy process to finalize and submit its RCPP project application. This RCPP award is a perfect match for the Ravalli County Open Land Program and the two programs in tandem have the potential to produce amazing results for the people, agriculture and wildlife of Ravalli County. MALT also extends a thank you to NRCS State Conservationist Tom Watson and NRCS Assistant State Conservationist Jerry Shows for their guidance and assistance during this process.

A second Montana RCPP submission was also approved. Pheasants Forever and their Northern Great Plains Conservation proposal was funded at $762,129. This partnership includes bird-focused organizations including American Bird Conservancy, Montana Audubon and the Northern Great Plains Joint Venture.

Richard and Grace Blanchet, who operated a 320-acre Flathead Valley farm for 50 years, did something extraordinary before they passed away: They gifted the farm to The Montana Land Reliance.

“Words can’t describe how critical this gift is and how important and how unusual it is for landowners to give up a significant portion of their estate to protect farmland,” MLR western manager Mark Schiltz said in a Kalispell Daily Inter Lake article. “It just shows how important it was to Richard and Grace.”

The Blanchets and MLR placed a conservation easement on the farm in 2006. Grace passed in 2012 and Richard died in 2017. As planned, the farm was recently sold (with easement in place), and three-quarters of the proceeds will fund land protection in the Flathead Valley and one-quarter was allocated to MLR’s stewardship fund.

Three members of the Five Valleys Land Trust board of directions wrote in a recent Missoulian guest column that Five Valleys staff and board is continuing to serve the community during our current period of medical and economic crisis. Five Valleys cancelled its regular fundraising banquet and instead held an “Un-Banquet” last week, and is holding a virtual happy hour featuring brief organizational reports at 5:00 PM on April 17.

In their guest column, the Five Valleys board writes that, While scrambling to tend to our mission and retool operations to proceed into that uncertain future, we have been reminded again and again of the strength, resilience and generosity of our western Montana community. We have had an opportunity to ponder our community-wide tradition of activism in protecting and stewarding the wild and natural land and water that graces us here. And in so doing, we have been truly humbled.

Dick Dolan, Northern Rockies Director of The Trust for Public Land and based in Bozeman, writes in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle that access to quality community parks is vital, and vitally important during the restrictions and medical responses needed in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Dolan writes: “…just as I’ve never been more grateful for my local parks and trails than I am right now, I’ve also never been more aware of the costs to the many communities that don’t have safe and welcoming access to the outdoors. Across the country 100 million people in America—including 28 million children—don’t have a park within a 10-minute walk of home. That means they lack a place to connect with neighbors, exercise or just get some fresh air.”

His article ends with this: “In Bozeman, nearly 20 percent of us still don’t have a park within walking distance of home. With projects like Story Mill Community Park, which my organization, The Trust for Public Land, opened last summer, we’re making progress, but we still have work to do to reach the goal of equal access to the outdoors for all.

Washington Post article highlights support for and value of conservation easements in Montana and the west. The Montana Land Reliance reports on the huge demand from landowners for conservation options in Montana.

A nasty mid-March windstorm in the Sandpoint, ID area resulted in blowdown trees across portions of the Kaniksu Land Trust Pine Street Woods property. The heavily forested area, owned by KLT and managed for conservation, recreation and education, is a popular destination for area hikers, cross country skiers, mountain bikers and others, and also for an array of outdoor and nature education programs. The windstorm left blowdown trees across trails, and KLT immediately worked to clear the trails, salvage the timber, and provide educational materials to the community about the ongoing forest management activities.

From KLT: The most severe damage at Pine Street Woods occurred in two locations, both if which are located on the eastern ridge of the property on or near the 20-acre Manning Buffer. Standing atop the Manning Buffer ridge looking north, the storm damage aligns perfectly between GN Road, Upland Drive and Pine Street Woods. The wind tunnel effect of the Purcell Trench appears to have caused the wind to “wrap” around the corner of Greenhorn Mountain (Mickinnick Trail) and funnel the strongest gusts along a narrow swath. This caused a micro-burst of damage and left uprooted trees that are all aligned in a generally southern direction.

In order to reopen the trails along the Manning Buffer and to avoid attracting bark beetles that may spread disease to otherwise healthy timber, KLT has engaged a conscientious small-scale logger with a forestry background to salvage the downed timber. Log skidding will be done using either a forwarding trailer pulled by a farm tractor or a small rubber-tired skidder. Although precautions will be taken, some degree of ground disturbance is unavoidable as these large trees will require a certain amount of maneuvering to either load onto the trailer or skid across the ground. The small equipment used will finesse in lieu of sheer horsepower to extract the logs.

The storm damaged areas of Pine Street Woods and the Manning Buffer consist of well-formed, well-spaced, mature trees, partially as a result of past forestry practices. KLT intends to maintain conscientious and sustainable forest management practices that continue to support this healthy working forest for the enjoyment and edification of our community.

One of the major events for Five Valleys Land Trust in Missoula is its annual spring banquet, a yearly sold-out affair that brings together hundreds of area residents, landowners, local business owners, Five Valleys supports and more. Like everyone, Five Valleys has had to make adjustments based on the ongoing COVID-19 response, restrictions and impacts. So Five Valleys has launched its “Un-Banquet,” a festive online event featuring voting for favorite area Five Valleys projects, online charitable giving, a virtual Happy Hour at 5:00 PM on April 10, and much more. The event ends on April 11. Check out the Five Valleys website for lots more information.

The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking public comment on a proposal to tap federal Forest Legacy Funds and state Habitat Montana funds to purchase a 7,274-acre conservation easement on lands in the Flathead now owned by Southern Pine Plantations (SPP), new owner of lands formerly owned by Weyerhaeuser. The Trust for Public Land has worked to put the project together, and has been in contact with SPP during the ownership transition. The proposed conservation easement is adjacent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Lost Trail National Wildlife Refuge.

FWP reports that “The proposed conservation easement would allow SPP to continue sustainable forest management, preclude development, sustain forestry jobs, protect valuable wildlife habitat and a key migratory corridor, and provide permanent, year-round public access to popular recreation lands. This project would protect the north slope of Dredger Ridge, a favorite walk-in elk hunting area. The property also supports grizzly bears and Canada lynx.”

Comments are due by May 5.

Bitter Root Land Trust contributed an article in the recent Ravalli Republic Agriculture Quarterly publication about the benefits of “flash-grazing” in the Bitterroot Valley.

From the article, written by Bitter Root Land Trust’s Emy Royce:

Flathead Land Trust is working to expand already-strong area support for a community project that would maintain and formalize access on a portion of the north shore of Flathead Lake near Somers. The Somers Beach Flathead Lake Public Access Project would ensure public access and would also protect water quality, conserve bird and wildlife habitat, and maintain scenic open space as a new addition to the Montana State Park system.

“In order to protect this special place from future private development, conserve the wetlands and bird habitat, and secure much needed new public access on Flathead Lake, we feel a state park offers our best opportunity to do so,”  said Paul Travis, executive director of Flathead Land Trust. “We are hopeful that community members will be supportive of this project by voicing their support.” FLT has already obtained over 200 letters of support for the project.