Land Trust News

Five Valleys Land Trust was one of two Montana entities to be awarded USDA Farm Bill Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) funding. Five Valleys will receive $3.7 million to work with Flint Creek Valley landowners on agricultural conservation projects.

“RCPP is a tremendous investment in the Flint Creek Valley at a critical time of unprecedented development pressure as well as landowner interest for agricultural land conservation,” says Whitney Schwab, Five Valleys Land Trust Executive Director. “This dedicated fund will allow us to work with our NRCS partners and landowners to support once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that will ensure that agricultural livelihoods and working lands can be adaptive and resilient in perpetuity.”

“RCPP leverages the power of public-private partnerships to focus resources and make a difference for the folks that manage Montana’s working lands,” said Tom Watson, NRCS State Conservationist for Montana. “Taking this chance to build on the successful partnership with Five Valleys Land Trust will bolster the economic and natural resource resiliency of agricultural operations in the Flint Creek Valley.”

More information is available from Five Valleys and from the NRCS. The other Montana project receiving RCPP funding is a Pheasants Forever project in the Northern Great Plains area of Montana.

Five Valleys Land Trust photo

     Gallatin Valley Land Trust and Bozeman Health are teaming up on a short but “super beneficial” trail in Bozeman.

    The new half-mile trail, named the Wellness Trail, will connect people who use the Gallatin Mental Health Center to the Bozeman trail system. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports that once complete the new segment will link a 4.5 mile network of trails around the Highland Glen Nature Preserve with Haggerty Lane. The trail corridor skirts the mental health center and residential and commercial neighborhoods, including some affordable housing units.

     “Trails are where community happens,” said EJ Porth, associate director for the Gallatin Valley Land Trust. “This is about removing barriers to access. This is about equity.”

     Photo: Gallatin Valley Land Trust and Bozeman Health have partnered to create a new half-mile trail to connect the Highland Glen Nature Preserve to the Gallatin Mental Health Center and the surrounding residential area. Rachel Leathe/Chronicle 

     Bitter Root Land Trust held a friendly virtual discussion with local supporters on April 14, and the response to BRLT’s news and plans was uniformly positive.

     During the “Conservation Conversations” discussion BRLT executive director Gavin Ricklefs and conservation project manager Melissa Odell offered the audience a sneak peak of upcoming possible projects within the next couple years, and the active project list is impressive.

     BRLT, which currently holds a total of slightly under 9,000 acres of easements to date, has about a dozen ongoing projects in the next two-year window that total 4,800 acres of conservation projects. 

     “The amount of momentum here in the Bitterroot is just incredible,” said Ricklefs.

     Odell and Ricklefs featured four projects in the pipeline, once of which would be the largest BRLT conservation easement to date. 

     While most of the focus is on agricultural conservation, projects also include wildlife habitat conservation and fisheries projects, as well as a couple projects that include recreational access.

     The evening’s public discussion allowed BRLT to demonstrate organizational growth and accomplishment, and show how the land trust is responding to local agricultural and recreational needs.  

Prickly Pear Land Trust has received a “Landowner of the Year” Award from the American Fisheries Society for PPLT’s restoration work on Sevenmile Creek in the Helena Valley. It’s great to see PPLT receive recognition for its remarkable commitment to the Sevenmile Restoration effort.

      A guest column in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle does a nice job describing what we all feel: Open land and nature have been essential during the COVID crisis.

     Liz Domenech, a member of Gallatin Valley Land Trust’s NextGen Advisory board, writes that, “During the pandemic, public land, open space, and trails became refuge. What seemed like perks of living in Montana before the pandemic suddenly felt non-negotiable.”  

The Eleventh Annual Montana Forest Landowner Conference, sponsored by the Montana Forest Stewardship Foundation and Northwest Management, Inc., is set for April 22-23. Registration closes on Friday, April 16. The virtual conference provides a wealth of information for forest landowners and land trust staffers. Visit the Foundation website to register. Attached as a conference brochure.

Brochure

Happy Snails – The Happy Snails, a friendly trail-running group affiliated with Prickly Pear Land Trust, is training for the PPLT annual Don’t Fence Me In Virtual Trail Run and Trail Challenge. The photo and this caption are from a Happy Snails Facebook post: On May 8th, we will lead an “at your own pace“ adventure, along the 5K course to kick off DFMI! We encourage all ability levels to come check us out! No pace is too slow for a Snail! Learn more about the virtual race and trail challenge at the PPLT website.

      The “Stories from the Field” virtual event by the Blackfoot Challenge on April 14 not only offers some great information, but some pretty cool prizes as well.

     The event runs 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM and just for registering you’re eligible for a raffle that includes: 10 pounds of Blackfoot Conservation Beef from Iverson Family Ranch, a sweet KettleHouse Brewing Company swag basket, a Blackfoot Challenge swag basket, or $100 worth of gift certificates to Blackfoot watershed restaurants.

     There’s more, reports the Challenge: Stop by KettleHouse’s Bonner or Myrtle Street taproom on the day of the event and show your registration for HALF OFF a growler fill to enjoy during the show!

     Challenge projects and activities covered during the April 14 event will include: 

     – How prescribed fire is being used to improve forest health 

     – A trumpeter swan’s journey of survival in the Blackfoot and beyond 

     – Innovations in using electricity to reduce conflicts with carnivores 

     – How drones are helping in the fight against weeds like cheatgrass 

     – Designing a stewardship plan that works for both cows and fish 

     – How beavers can help increase stream health and drought resilience.

     Bitter Root Land Trust executive director Gavin Ricklefs is inviting BRLT friends and Ravalli County residents to “Conservation Conversations: A Virtual Q & A with BRLT Staff,” on April 14, from 7:00 – 8:00 PM. Gavin will be joined by BRLT’s newest staff member, conservation project manager Melissa Odell. Melissa has a background in wildlife biology and brings a unique perspective to BRLT. Among the discussion items will be “exciting project updates and a sneak peek into what is next” at BRLT. 

     “Bring your favorite local beverage and let’s toast all of the conservation success that you helped make happen over the past year throughout the valley,” Gavin writes in the invitation. “We’ll also take a sneak peek at the incredible opportunities to conserve the valley’s water, wildlife, and working lands your support and love for the Bitterroot has made possible in 2021.”

     To RSVP click here.