After 17 years, countless volunteer hours and crucial partnerships, Foys to Blacktail Trails nonprofit celebrates first full summer with complete trail network from Herron Park to Blacktail Mountain. As the Flathead Beacon article explains, MALT members The Montana Land Reliance, The Conservation Fund and Flathead Land Trust all contributed to the trails progress and achievements.
News
Missoula County Commission Okays Open Space Measure for November Ballot
Missoula County voters will have an opportunity to vote for a $15 million open space bond in November. The Missoula County Commission approved the measure for the ballot by a unanimous commission vote on July 9.
Tickets Still Available for Wildlands Music Festival
In an effort to celebrate Montana’s wild and open spaces and support the non-profits that work to protect them, Outlaw Partners has announced that it will produce the inaugural Wildlands Festival concert at the Romney Oval on the campus of Montana State University on August 10, 2018. The concert will feature dualheadliners, acclaimed singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen and country-rockers Lukas Nelson and his band Promise of the Real. A portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit Gallatin Valley Land Trust, Montana Land Reliance, and Yellowstone Forever – three nonprofits whose missions align with the festival’s ethos. The Wildlands Festival will bring people together who share a love of nature, outdoor recreation, parks, trails, and the enjoyment of what makes Montana special. The event will celebrate the state’s wildlands and will be an opportunity for concert-goers to support the spaces that they cherish, while enjoying live music in a picturesque outdoor setting.
Orphan Grizzly Cubs Find New Home Thanks to Land Trust
The Vital Ground Foundation and a trio of orphaned grizzly cubs got a little help from some friends last week when Vital Ground’s board chairman helped facilitate placement of the cubs to a zoo in Quebec, Canada. Vital Ground released the good news on July 5 as timing was running out for the cubs, whose mother was killed by a motor vehicle in early June. Vital Ground board chair Stuart Strahl, who also serves as president and CEO of the Chicago Zoological Society, had posted the cubs’ need to a bear-themed message board on the website of the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums. As a result of that post, the cubs will soon be living in Zoo Sauvage de Saint-Felicien in Quebec, which features large native habitats and only houses animals indigenous to Earth’s northern boreal regions. Located in a small town more than 200 miles north of Montreal, the regionally-acclaimed zoo’s name translates as “Wild Zoo of Saint-Felicien.”
Montana Land Reliance Holds Confluence Musical Celebration on July 8
The Montana Land Reliance is sponsoring “Confluence: A Musical Celebration of Montana’s Open Space” on July 8 near Bozeman. RSVP’s are today today, July 5.
Vital Ground Foundation Receives Grant to Conserve Key Rocky Mountain Front Parcel
The Vital Ground Foundation works with landowners to conserve key 640-acre parcel of habitat and diminish human-bear conflicts along the Rocky Mountain Front.
Gallatin Valley Land Trust Taps Bond Fund to Conserve Ag Lands
The county with the fastest growing population in Montana continues to wisely conserve vital open land for agricultural production and wildlife habitat. Gallatin Valley Land Trust obtained $270,000 in Gallatin County open land bond funding to work with the Oliver family to conserve 549 acres of local farmland.
MALT Seeks New ALE Program Coordinator
The Montana Association of Land Trusts has an immediate job opening for a Montana ALE Program Coordinator. Please see the attached job description for details. Interested candidates are encouraged to contact MALT executive director Glenn Marx.
Senator Tester Receives LWCF Legacy Award June 30 in Missoula
Montana Senator Jon Tester, a longtime champion of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, will receive an LWCF Legacy Award during a ceremony in Missoula on Saturday, June 30. The event takes place at 10:00 AM at Brennan’s Wave on the Riverfront Trail, and the public is invited. The LWCF is a national conservation program that has provided millions of dollars in economic and conservation benefits to Montana.
Missoula’s Barmeyer Trail Bolsters Community Trails System
Thanks in part to Five Valleys Land Trust, Missoula’s community trails system keeps getting bigger and better. The new Barmeyer Loop Trail and improved Mount Dean Stone access “offers a wealth of sensory stimuli and an intriguing introduction into what will become a link of accessible trail systems across Missoula’s south side.”