Land Trust News

The Nature Conservancy in Montana released a recent story-map, in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation, providing a comprehensive look at the challenging migration pronghorn face in north central Montana and southern Canada. “It’s not too late to secure these ancient pathways. With the cooperation of landowners, scientists, agencies and conservation organizations, a future for these beautiful animals can be assured,” says Nature Conservancy Range Ecologist Kelsey Molloy. The story-map is titled On the Move and does a remarkable job capturing the perilous journey of the pronghorn as they navigate roads, fences, traffic, and many more obstacles. 

      The Vital Ground Foundation’s One Landscape Initiative comes alive through a new story-map on the Foundation’s website that captures the vision, goals, and progress of the One Landscape campaign.

     The One Landscape Initiative calls for a conservation focus on 188,000 acres of private land that link the region’s wild strongholds.  

     Created by Vital Ground student intern Jasmin López, the impressive multimedia story-map feature includes video clips from Bob Landis Wildlife Films and Eric Ian’s short film “One Landscape”, as well as project maps and photos, statistics underlying Vital Ground’s science-driven conservation strategy, and a new interactive map showing how connecting One Landscape lands provides climate change resilience for a myriad wildlife species.  

      The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and The Nature Conservancy are happy to announce transfer of the 132-acre Safe Harbor Marsh Preserve to the CSKT people. The TNC preserve is within a larger block of CSKT-owned lands and it makes sense that it be owned entirely by the Tribes. TNC is pleased to see these traditional lands return to the hands of the CSKT.

     “TNC originally purchased the property to protect its outstanding conservation values, centered around a large perennial wetland marsh. Transferring the property to CSKT will ensure those values remain protected and restore ownership to the original stewards of the land,” said TNC State Director Amy Croover.

     The transfer is also helping fulfill a long-term vision of the Tribes.

     “The wisdom and generosity expressed through the return of these lands is something we can hope others will see fit to follow,” said CSKT Chairwoman Shelly R. Fyant. “The rebuilding of the last remaining lands of our homeland has remained a key goal for our Council going back to our first Tribal Council in 1935. Our deepest thanks go out to The Nature Conservancy.”

     The Preserve, located in Lake County, is part of a perennial wetland marsh, on Flathead Lake’s west shore, north of Polson. The Preserve lies entirely within the boundaries of the Flathead Reservation and is bordered on three sides by CSKT Tribal Trust Land.  TNC Photo 

Rachel Leathe of the Bozeman Daily Chronicle took these photos of a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 16 that celebrated the transfer of 160 acres of land in Middle Cottonwood Canyon to the Forest Service for public use and recreation. The Chronicle article highlighted the work of Gallatin Valley Land Trust in purchasing and conserving the land until public ownership was possible. The ribbon-cutting ceremony (below, left) shows Corey Lewellen, Bozeman district ranger for the Custer Gallatin National Forest, cutting the ribbon, flanked by GVLT executive director Chet Work (left) and GVLT conservation director Brendan Weiner (right). In the photo below at right Chet Work and Brendan Weiner hold up a map of the property. The Chronicle article also pointed out a group of mountain goats observed the ceremony from a ledge above.

Thanks to a cooperative effort that includes Five Valleys Land Trust, the Missoula area’s Marshall Mountain is open to the public. A celebratory event was recently held and Engage Missoula has lots of info about Marshall Mountain recreational opportunities. The Five Valleys Land Trust website has additional information about Marshall Mountain, including trail maps.

     MALT participated in a recent Land and Water Conservation Fund Coalition webinar that provided expansive information about the Forest Legacy Program, and while the webinar offered examples of successful Forest Legacy projects from around the country Montana was a consistent presence within the presentations. 

     The webinar featured presentations from The Trust for Public Land, The Conservation Fund, the Forest Legacy Program, and US Forest Service and others, and was cosponsored by The Nature Conservancy.

     The webinar explained the project application process and project review and approval/funding process, and detailed how full funding of the LWCF will assist in funding additional projects.

     At least eight different presenter slides showcased Montana’s success in utilizing the Forest Legacy Program. One slide featured the Bad Rock Canyon Project, a cooperative proposal involving Montana FWP and Flathead Land Trust, and how the benefits of the project are a good fit for the Forest Legacy Program.

     Other slides showed a map of the US and the concentration of Forest Legacy projects in northwest Montana. One slide showed a sample list of Forest Legacy projects approved by the USFS and submitted to Congress, with two of the top seven projects proposed within Montana. Another slide showed a map of the national forest system in Idaho and Montana with the impressive scope of Forest Legacy Projects highlighted. Other slides focused on the Seeley Lake area of Montana, and others showed national information with Montana front and center as a Forest Legacy Program partner.     

Prickly Pear Land Trust premiered a 25th anniversary video on Sept. 16 as part of its Crescent Moon Auction and anniversary celeration. The roughly ten-minute video takes a visual tour of PPLT’s major projects…South Hills trails system, local conservation easements, Tenmile Creek Park, Sevenmile Creek Restoration Project, East Helena Greenway Project and more.

     An exciting collaborative conservation project involving three MALT members has been proposed for the Bigfork area that would create four miles of new community trails and 236 acres of forest conservation and open lands.

  An article in the Kalispell Daily Inter Lake reported The Trust for Public Land, Flathead Land Trust  and  The  Montana Land Reliance  announced their plans for the property on the flanks of Swan Hill, which was once slated for development of 17 new residential lots.

     The project is possible thanks to Alan and Cindy Horn, who donated the property in December 2020. The land is currently owned by the Trust for Public Land. Eventually, ownership will be transferred to the Flathead Land Trust, with the Montana Land Reliance  holding a conservation easement. The proposed trail would be accessible through the Bigfork Stage Road about a half-mile from town.

     The Daily Inter Lake article contained some excellent quotes from the land trusts involved in the project:

     Lucas Cain, of The Trust for Public Land, said the project “will also allow for continued forest health management to reduce the risk of wildfire threats which have become so prevalent in our region.”

     “We look forward to engaging with the community as we work towards providing much-needed front-country recreation on this property that otherwise could have been lost to subdivision and development,” said Paul Travis, executive director of the Flathead Land Trust.

     “We have many wonderful memories of our time in Bigfork and the Flathead Valley and are very pleased to have been able to contribute this beautiful property to the community,” the Horns said in a statement.

     The project is in its infancy, with many steps—community involvement, planning and design, fundraising and more—will be needed before project completion. 

     Earlier, in 2017, the Horns donated a 1,100-acre conservation easement held by Flathead Land Trust.

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle editorial board has strongly endorsed the Gallatin Valley Land Trust campaign to purchase a portion of Peets Hill to maintain open space and outdoor recreation opportunities.

From the editorial: Generations from now, community members will look back with reverence on those who had the foresight to acquire land to set aside for parks and trails. We can all become part of that legacy by donating what we can to this effort. Go the organization’s website at gvlt.org and follow the links to learn how you can help.

Congratulations to the Flynn family of the Hideaway Cattle and Guest Ranch near Townsend. The Flynns are the 2021 Montana Leopold Conservation Award Recipient. 

Kelly Flynn (below, right), a former state legislator, passed away in March 2021, and his family (left) now manages the property. The Leopold award is awarded annually and recognizes agricultural landowners actively committed to a land ethic.