MISSIONEmpowering Montana’s land trusts through policy advocacy, strategic collaboration, and community engagement to preserve and protect our natural, economic and agricultural heritage for future generations.

Commitment to Conservation

The Montana Association of Land Trusts (MALT) was created in 2005 to help maintain a Montana policy climate that allows the work of the land trust community to flourish. MALT members help fund MALT’s operations through a membership dues structure. MALT is not a standalone nonprofit entity and is administratively attached to Heart of the Rockies Initiative.

Advocacy & Collaboration

By working with the member land trusts, landowners, legislators, and the community, MALT ensures sustainable land management practices that protect the state’s environmental and agricultural heritage.

Educational
Initiatives

To ensure member land trusts and the community are apprised of important current events in conservation, MALT is committed to staying at the forefront of important conservation policy, legal issues, and community outreach through collaboration with land trusts and their communities.

Strategic
Partnerships

There is strength in numbers. By collaborating with other conservation and natural resource organizations across the state, together, MALT partners maximize the conservation impact and contribute to a much larger conservation mission in Montana.

Our Reach

While Montana nonprofit land trusts operate under fairly consistent goals and missions, land trusts differ in their location, conservation focus, and project scope. 

Interact with the map to link to each organization’s website.

“

Gavin Ricklefs

Managing Partner, Heart of the Rockies Initiative

“Montana’s nonprofit land trusts and public agencies have been working cooperatively with willing landowners for over 40 years to achieve their conservation goals. From our densely forested mountain ranges with low lying valleys and abundant rivers and lakes, to sweeping grassland plains and everywhere in between, MALT members provide diverse and broad value through projects and activities to preserve Montana’s special way of life for future generations.”

How We Work

Actions that MALT takes to fulfill its role

Advocacy for supportive conservation policies.

Educational initiatives to inform landowners and the public.

Coordination among land trusts for unified efforts.

Securing funding and support for conservation efforts.

Facilitating communication and collaboration among stakeholders.

MALT works to coordinate its members on local, state and national program and policy efforts, and serves essentially as a policy leader for its membership. MALT is officially registered with the Montana Secretary of State and is headquartered in Helena, Montana. MALT staff engages regularly with state officials, the Montana Legislature, and federal officials on a wide range of policies and programs, including the federal Farm Bill, Land and Water Conservation Fund, Montana’s open land statute, trails and parks programs, and more.

MALT has two employees; an executive director and a partnership position with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The partnership position is titled Montana ALE Program Coordinator (ALE stands for Agriculture Land Easements, a program created by the 2014 Farm Bill). The Montana ALE Program Coordinator is located in Bozeman, within the state NRCS office.