Land Trust News

    The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the US Forest Service, Montana Outdoor Legacy Foundation, and the Montana Fish & Wildlife Conservation Trust collaborated on a $3 million project that led to the Forest Service acquiring 1,418 acres of new public land that will conserve wildlife habitat and provide public access.

     “The land will provide year-round and winter habitat for elk, as well as habitat for deer, bears, wolves, moose, mountain lions, ferruginous hawks, and a variety of grassland birds,” Mike Mueller, RMEF senior lands program manager, said in a Helena Independent Record article.

     The Montana Fish & Wildlife Conservation Trust used its new Assets for Conservation Program to fund the project.

     “It was a great opening act, and all of the partners are looking for the next opportunity,” MOLF Executive Director Mitch King said.

     From the article: 

     The U.S. Forest Service subsequently acquired the property from MFWCT with Land and Water Conservation Funding. At an elevation of 7,000 feet, the property consists of rolling mountains and mountain foothill habitat with a combination of timbered areas and mountain sagebrush and grassland habitat. The East Fork of Dry Creek, Turman Creek, Sand Creek, and Dahlman Gulch flow through the property and help valuable riparian areas and meadows. 

      Gallatin Valley Land Trust, the NRCS ALE Program, Gallatin County Open Land Program and the Flikkema family have partnered to conserve prime farmland in the Amsterdam-Churchill area within Gallatin County.

     It’s another example of the productive partnerships that bring impressive agricultural conservation to the Gallatin Valley that maintains local food production and helps preserve farm and ranch legacies.

     The project is funded by the NRCS ALE Program and the county open land program, and the Flikkemas are making a sizable contribution to the project as well.

     “They’re only getting compensated for about half of what they’re willing to give up on behalf of the community, and I think that is probably the most obvious sign of their interest of doing this on behalf of the community and their family,” said Gallatin Valley Land Trust Executive Director Chet Work in a Bozeman Daily Chronicle article.

     From the article: This easement would conserve the family’s land for agricultural purposes and prevent industrial or commercial activity on the property. A key component of obtaining funding from the NRCS was that the federal department designated 73% of the soil on the land as agriculturally significant, Work said.

A video prepared by Montana Legislative staff captures the growth of Montana land conservation and conservation easements since the first easement was created in 1976. The video was part of an August 31 presentation to the Financial Modernization & Risk Analysis (MARA) Interim Committee. The committee staff also prepared two reports. Links to the video and reports are presented below.

• Conservation Easements in Montana
  • Conservation Easements by County Interactive Tool 
  • Conservation Easements (video)

     Dave Meehan of Whitefish spends about 229 days a year on the road and has visited all 50 states talking about—and showcasing—what is apparently his favorite topic: Elk.

     Dave drives the truck and trailer for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s Great Elk Tour. Dave and the Elk Tour are featured in a Kalispell Daily Inter Lake article, and Dave not only drives the truck for the Elk Tour, he has also built three of the Elk Tour trailers.

     Here are some excerpts from the article:

      While many may want Meehan’s job and may think they could do it, he possesses some skills that make him a perfect fit.

     Meehan came to the Flathead Valley in 1997 from Troy, Pennsylvania, and worked as a cabinet maker for a local wood shop. His woodworking skills have been valuable as the manager of the Great Elk Tour.

     The tour’s theme is “Great Elk Need Great Habitat,” and Meehan spends a lot of time talking about that, as well as many other subjects.

     “I love it,” he said. “I get to go all over the country, talk to like-minded people about elk, hunting, politics, various things.”

     Meehan has two shows left this year. He’ll be at the Jackson Hole Elk Fest on Oct. 2 and at the foundation’s Hunter and Outdoor Christmas Expo in Las Vegas from Dec. 1 to Dec. 11. It will be part of the foundation’s Calcutta Cowboy Revival Show and the Junior World Finals in the Wrangler Rodeo Arena.

Montana land trusts are invited to participate in discussions about a Soil Health Initiative, and here’s more info about the project. A very short survey about participation is available here. A working list of upcoming meetings is available here. For more information contact Cole Mannix. The project asks farmers, ranchers, and other soil stakeholders across the state how a Montana soil initiative could help increase the pace and scale at which land stewards implement voluntary soil health practices.

Congratulations to the Iverson Ranch!

Denny and Charlotte Iverson, Denny’s brother Les and sister-in-law Sue, the next generation of Iversons…Denny’s daughter, Courtney, son-in-law Jeff, and Les’ son Justin and his wife Jennifer, were named 2021 recipients of the Missoula County Land Stewardship Award. The Iverson family was nominated for the award by Five Valleys Land Trust.

The Iverson Ranch is located in the Potomac Valley and the Iverson family has been active and innovative in agricultural production and agricultural conservation for many years.

“As a family operation, the Iversons have shown leadership in water and soil management for generations,” said Juniper Davis, manager of Missoula County’s Parks, Trails and Open Lands division. “Their work sets an example in sustainable agricultural production, reducing conflict between livestock and predators, and forest stewardship. Their diligent efforts also improve the lands for their neighbors and other families who make a living by working the land.”

Read more on the Missoula County website.

The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking comments on the proposed Bad Rock Canyon conservation and recreation project near Columbia Falls.

From a Flathead Beacon news article:

Known as the Bad Rock Canyon project, the property is located off U.S. Highway 2 and would be preserved as a Wildlife Management Area (WMA). FWP has detailed the proposal in a draft environmental assessment that is open for public comment until 5 p.m. on Sept. 8. A virtual public hearing is scheduled for Aug. 26 at 6 p.m. to provide information on the project and answer questions from the public. The online meeting will be streamed via Zoom online at https://fwp.mt.gov/aboutfwp/regions/region1.

FWP’s purchase of the property would “safeguard vital habitat and a travel corridor for wildlife species such as grizzly bears and bull trout,” according to agency officials. The property is located at a geographic pinch point where the Flathead River flows through the narrow Bad Rock Canyon corridor. The land is adjacent to a sizable block of public land and would add to a 12,000-acre network of conserved land along a 43-mile stretch of the Flathead River between Columbia Falls and Flathead Lake.

“This project creates a unique opportunity to protect wildlife habitat and public access on the doorstep of the Gateway to Glacier and along the Flathead River,” FWP Regional Supervisor Jim Williams said. “We appreciate our partners, CFAC and the Flathead Land Trust, for working towards a common goal of land stewardship that will benefit everyone into the future.”

MALT strongly supports the proposed project.

The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks is recommending approval of a 27,000-acre forest management project in northwest Montana that would “prevent residential and commercial development of the property while allowing the property to continue to be managed as a working forest.” The project is known as the Kootenai Forestlands Phase II Conservation Easement, and is funded by the U.S. Forest Service Forest Legacy Program.

Under the proposal, FWP would hold the conservation easement and Stimson would retain ownership of the land and continue to sustainably manage it for timber production. The easement would preclude development, protect important wildlife habitat and key landscape connectivity, and provide permanent public access and recreational opportunities on the property.

Mike Schaedel, Western Montana Forester for The Nature Conservancy in Montana, explains the benefits of forest thinning and prescribed burning in a video available on the Montana TNC website. The three-minute video, titled “Prescribed Burns: Fighting Fire with Fire,”showcases TNC’s partnerships with other forest managers and cooperators on a controlled burn project. By thinning trees and setting fires that mimic the natural low-intensity burns that historically reduced combustible fuel in our forests, TNC is reducing the risk of far more severe and damaging blazes in the future.