The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced several funding awards through its Northern Great Plains Program in eastern Montana designed to maintain and improve grasslands habitats and connectivity. The Helena Independent Record article provides details on the grants, which will work with landowners to help fund grasslands and range stewardship projects by The Montana Land Reliance and The Nature Conservancy in Montana, in addition to the Bureau of Land Management and the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance.
News
Story Mill Park Will Be Bozeman Flagship Community Park
=The Trust for Public Land reports construction is now underway on Bozeman’s Story Mill Community Park, and when completed the park will offer “a natural amphitheater that can seat up to 200 people next to a 40-foot-long climbing wall; a path that winds along the East Gallatin River and opens to a 40-acre nature sanctuary; a space that can act as grounds for summer festivals or a quiet spot for afternoon walks; and a trail through a food forest that leads to a garden.”
MALT Farm Bill Team and NRCS Meet April 12 in Bozeman
=The MALT Farm Bill Team and the Natural Resources Conservation Service will hold a partnership meeting on Thursday, April 12, in Bozeman. MALT, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, and landowners team up with the NRCS on projects through the Agricultural Land Easement (ALE) Program, and the NRCS, Ducks Unlimited and landowners team up on the Wetlands Reserve Easement (WRE) Program. The meeting will start at 10:00 AM at the USDA Rural Development conference room located at 2229 Boot Hill Court in Bozeman. ALE Program Coordinator Alan Davis distributed a meeting agenda in an April 5 email. Video teleconference facilities are available in Missoula and Kalispell. The ALE Program has been in transition since the departure of Lisa McCauley and Lisa Coverdale in October 2017, and the NRCS is dedicating new resources and personnel to the Montana program to help close pending projects. The transition has been challenging, however, and the April 12 meeting will give land trusts and the NRCS an opportunity to discuss issues and options for progress.
Open Space Advisory Committee Unanimously Approves Peaks to Creeks Initiative
Prickly Pear Land Trust’s Peaks to Creeks community conservation proposal has been unanimously approved by the Lewis and Clark County Open Space Citizen Advisory Committee. Great project for the Helena community. The county commission will consider the project within the next few weeks.
Study: Montana Has Lost 1.3 Million Acres of Open Land Since 1990
Since 1990 Montana reportedly lost 1.3 million acres of open land to development. That’s one reason why conservation of open land is so important.
Alliance Continues Efforts to Halt Conservation Easement Syndication
The Land Trust Alliance released a new statement on efforts to stem the syndication of conservation easement tax benefits: “Terms like ‘syndicated easements’ and ‘monetized easements’ probably aren’t part of your vocabulary. And there’s a good reason for that. These transactions and their profit motive have been denounced by the IRS, members of Congress and experts in our field. But these problematic transactions are growing in prominence and drawing IRS and media scrutiny. Land trusts all across the United States are now being asked to join deals that threaten the work of land trusts in our region and harm the reputation of our community. This issue is complex. But the bottom line is simple: These abuses are wrong. These abuses cheat taxpayers and the government. And these abuses invite scorn and sanctions that could undermine the land trust community’s ability to serve the public good. To steer clear of any potential problems, please read and follow the Land Trust Alliance’s guidance on this issue (See link below). Questions can be directed to Land Trust Alliance Conservation Defense Director Leslie Ratley-Beach at lrbeach@lta.org.
Land Trust Alliance Has Six April Webinars on Tap for Land Trusts
The Land Trust Alliance is sponsoring six webinars – starting April 12 with a session on conservation easement stewardship – during the month of April.
FVLT Spring Banquet Tickets Go On Sale Today
If you plan on attending the Five Valleys Land Trust 24th Annual Banquet and Auction you better act soon, because the event typically sells out and sells out quick. The event is set for May 19 at the UC Ballroom on the UM Campus in Missoula, but tickets are available starting April 2. Festivities on May 19 get underway at 5:30 PM and the event features a live and silent auction, music by Tom Catmull, a great dinner, and “the opportunity to meet and mingle with others who care about this extraordinary place.”
Open Land Plays Role in Missoula County Planning
As Missoula County plans its future, a newspaper article discusses the “homes there, farms there, factories there” planning efforts in which land trusts and open lands play a key role.
Ties to the Land Workshop Set for April 28
Succession planning is important for long-term forest and ranch management, and is critical for family financial planning. A Ties to the Land Workshop will be held in Helena on April 28, conducted by experienced presenters who provide excellent information on how and why do conduct family succession planning.