In 1995, friends and neighbors gathered in a Helena living room to figure out how to protect the mountain behind Montana’s Capitol. Since then, Prickly Pear Land Trust has protected over 2,000 acres in Helena’s South Hills and built over 80 miles of trails.

PPLT also partners with the National Guard, Lewis & Clark County, and other organizations to protect open space around Fort Harrison. Since 2017, Tenmile Creek Park’s accessible trails have been a huge hit with veterans, reservists, and employees from neighboring Fort Harrison and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Since its founding in 1990, Gallatin Valley Land Trust (GVLT) has been instrumental in developing many of the beloved trails that make up Bozeman’s Main Street to Mountains trail system which now totals nearly 100 miles.

GVLT Founder Chris Boyd had the original vision for this system, dreaming of connecting the wooded Gallatin Range in the south to the imposing ridgeline of the Bridgers in the north by trail, through the various neighborhoods, subdivisions, and open fields along the way. Decades later GVLT made that dream a reality through partnerships with the City of Bozeman and dozens of public and private organizations.

Today, these trails – including Peets Hill/Burke Park, Drinking Horse Mountain Trail, Triple Tree Trail, Gallagator Trail, Gallatin County Regional Park, and many more – are used by commuters, runners, bikers, hikers, birdwatchers, and stargazers of all ages.

In western Montana, Five Valleys Land Trust has helped to protect and create over 12,400 acres of publicly accessible community open spaces including Mount Jumbo, Mount Sentinel, the Alberton Gorge, the Bluebird Preserve, Marshall Mountain, the Route of the Olympian Trail, and the Mount Dean Stone Preserve. Many of these open spaces are now stewarded by partners such as the City of Missoula, Missoula County, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, and the US Forest Service.

Five Valleys also owns and manages three properties for public access and habitat restoration. These properties include the 300-acre Rock Creek Confluence and its network of universally accessible trails and amenities near Clinton, the 9-acre Lincoln Community River Park along the Blackfoot River in Lincoln, and the 2,470-acre Mount Dean Stone Community Forest just outside of Missoula.

Flathead Land Trust works to protect open spaces in northwest Montana. FLT collaborated with Trust for Public Land and other partners to create the Harrell Forest Community Trail System, located just outside of Bigfork, for the public to enjoy. The family-friendly and inclusive trails provide over 4.5 miles of stacked loops for hiking and biking. The property is also protected under a conservation easement with our friends at Montana Land Reliance.

Along with a myriad of partners, Flathead Land Trust also helped safeguard and secure public access at Owen Sowerwine, Bad Rock Canyon and Somers Beach, among others.

Bitter Root Land Trust in the Bitterroot Valley has partnered with the community to bring two community parks and trails along the Bitterroot River in Hamilton – Skalkaho Bend Park and Steve Powell Park – as well as the C. Ben White Fishing Access Site (FAS) and Trail System along the West Fork of the Bitterroot River in Conner.

With close proximity to downtown Hamilton, Skalkaho Bend and Steve Powell Parks provide easy access for schools and the nearby senior center, hospital and mental health center, while C. Ben White Memorial FAS and Trail offers opportunities to explore the remote and largely wild landscape of the West Fork wilderness area.

Kaniksu Land Trust, a MALT-member organization based in Sandpoint, ID that works in Montana’s Sanders County, has pioneered the Pine Street Woods Community Forest, a 180-acre accessible forest that offers outdoor education and recreation to the entire Sandpoint community. In addition, in Montana, Kaniksu Land Trust has partnered to help create the Cabinet View Nature Area, a 75-acre parcel with recreational access near the Montana-Idaho border that includes a picnic shelter and trails for family usage.