The Work

We live and work in an extraordinary place. Western Montana is blessed with clean cold rivers, beautiful mountain ranges, diverse wildlife, and family farms and ranches that that have been cared for for generations.

Like the five valleys from which we take our name, Five Valleys is at the nexus of these values. Our work directly protects each of them by employing a range of tools that conserve and enhance private and public places forever.

Our tools include conservation easements, stewardship projects and public land exchanges. Projects range from straightforward to complex. And much of the work we do involves a variety of partnerships with family landowners, public agencies and other conservation organizations.

Projects often start with a call from a landowner or partner organization, but we are highly selective. Land that we protect — large tract or small — must have high-quality conservation values such as agricultural soils, wetlands, wildlife habitat, prime streams, viewsheds and/or recreation opportunities.

In 2010, we undertook a significant GIS mapping project that enabled us to identify the areas where these conservation values overlap and where pressures to subdivide or develop threaten them most. In the coming years, we intend to focus our work in these areas to ensure the extraordinary place we live today will be equally extraordinary for future generations.