Since becoming a land trust in 1989, Five Valleys Land Trust has worked to preserve Montana's open lands through conservation easements, facilitation of public land acquisitions, and on-the-ground stewardship programs. The following is an overview of some of our accomplishments:

• Feature Project
• Ongoing Projects
• Completed Projects
• Signature Projects
  

FEATURE PROJECT:

Biking on the Railroad- Five Valleys Negotiates Deal to Extend Hiawatha Trail by 30 Miles
Continued

FVLT secured interim or “bridge” funding to purchase the ten remaining private parcels that make it possible to travel the former Milwaukee Road railroad right-of-way for nearly 45 miles from Little Joe Road, just west of St. Regis, all the way to the end of the line. When public funding becomes available through the Forest Service and other sources, the land will be transferred to the Forest Service.

Today, the 15-mile Route of the Hiawatha bike trail that winds its way across the Bitterroot Mountains between Montana and Idaho is one of the most popular and exciting family recreational opportunities in western Montana. Each summer since 2001, as many as 30,000 bicyclists follow the Milwaukee Road right-of-way between the East Portal Trailhead near Taft, Montana and Pearson, Idaho. The route, which was abandoned by the bankrupt Milwaukee Railroad in 1977 is regarded as one of the most scenic rides in the west. A highlight of the ride is the 1.6 mile Taft Tunnel which burrows under the state line at the crest of the range.

In 2007, the Forest Service secured funding for the acquisition of an additional 12 miles of the route between the trailhead and Haugan, along with about 75% of the route between Haugan and St. Regis. And in late 2007, FVLT agreed to help facilitate the purchase of the remaining parcels. Five Valleys signed a purchase agreement with the landowner and joined with the Forest Service to obtain the funding that will be necessary to complete the purchase of approximately 108 acres along the last fifteen miles of the route.

Meanwhile, members and supporters of FVLT responded generously to help make this acquisition possible and we are thrilled to see the effort reach fruition. This is another in FVLT’s tradition of cooperative conservation efforts aimed at assuring that generations of residents and visitors in western Montana will continue to enjoy and recreate on this marvelous landscape. Mount Jumbo, Mount Sentinel, the Rattlesnake Greenway, the Alberton Gorge, and many more places available to the public are part of that proud legacy. And now, the Route of the Hiawatha is too.

Rock Creek Project

For 54 miles Rock Creek carves its way out of the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness, through the wide ranching valleys of the upper drainage, and down through a narrow canyon until it joins the Clark Fork River 30 miles east of Missoula, Montana.  This spectacular drainage supports habitat for two of the finest herds of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in the world, and its near-pristine waters host a renowned “Blue Ribbon” fishery with five wild trout species, including two threatened natives...bull trout and West Slope cutthroats. 

Beginning as a trust fund overseen by the Rock Creek Council and the Montana Board of Natural Resources, in 1986 the Rock Creek Trust was created to work with willing private landowners to protect Rock Creek’s famous trout waters, the health of its nationally acclaimed wildlife habitat, its unusual biodiversity, and the open space beauty of the drainage.  By purchasing land with trust monies, protecting it with conservation easements, then selling or trading the land in return for further conservation, the trust was leveraged dramatically in those early years, multiplying the original investment many times over in real, on-the-ground conservation. Learn More >>

COMPLETED PROJECTS:

1) Sunnyslope Grazing Association- 7570 acres for trout, wildlife and people

Stew Schwartz never thought he would be put a conservation easement on his ranch, but he had a history of trying new things when they made sense for his agricultural operation and the land.

Back in the early 1960’s Stew formed the Sunny Slope Grazing Association (SSGA)
with the Thompsons and five other ranching families to purchase land in the upper Blackfoot Valley for summer pasture to augment their home ranches on the Rocky Mountain Front. Like so much of western Montana, the Sunny Slope land was fragmented in a checkerboard pattern of ownership with many sections owned by a
series of large timber companies. For more than 45 years, Sunny Slope held the grazing leases on these timber company lands. This worked well until the latest landowner, Plum Creek Timber Company, decided to move into residential development. “That ground was an important part of our operation,” says Stew. “If the Plum Creek land was subdivided, it would have put a lot more people and houses in the middle of our cows and that doesn’t make running cows any easier.” Learn more>>

2) South Hills- Collaborating for Conservation

For decades the landowners and citizens of Missoula made progress toward protecting land in all but one of our high priority areas—the South Hills Open Space Cornerstone. That changed in ’07 thanks to the generosity of four long-time landowners and the citizens of Missoula County. The tipping point for conservation was the Hayden family’s easement donation on their 425-acre property, which lead to the Line and Rimel families placing another 626 acres under easement. Now and forever more than 1,000 acres of gently sloping grasslands and forests will serve as an important corridor for wildlife to be enjoyed as an unfettered scenic view by people from throughout the Missoula Valley.

This conservation success brought together the neighbors and our community, as evident from several letters to the editors of local papers, more than a few folks stopping to thank the landowners at the grocery store, Missoula City Council and County Commissioners unanimously supporting the project, and a message applauding this effort in the New York Times.

3) McCauley Butte- A Model for Conservation Development

"Once again, Missoula has come together to preserve a landmark and demonstrate that by working together and building strong relationships, public and private interests don't need to be mutually exclusive," says Missoula Mayor John Engen.

The easements, donated by Northern Lights Development, LLC, are part of a conservation development plan that maximizes protection for the property’s significant conservation values. As part of the plan, approximately 19 acres adjacent to the easement property on the Butte’s east side will be developed for residential use to support conservation of the remainder.

“The conservation development at McCauley Butte will preserve the vast majority of this important piece of land while allowing for the appropriate portions of the property to be developed” said Stuart Goldberg, co-owner of Northern Lights.  “The idea is to balance development and protection, and we are proud of the legacy of conservation that this development is helping to create.”

"We hope this will serve as a model for future developments" said Missoula County Commissioner Bill Carey. "It demonstrates that development can occur while protecting the open space we all value" added fellow Commissioner Jean Curtiss. 

McCauley Butte sits just west of Fort Missoula in Missoula’s Target Range neighborhood and includes 2 miles of Bitterroot River frontage. It’s a place of special importance to many in the Missoula Valley, providing open space and visual aesthetic appeal from almost any spot in Missoula. Along with the butte’s scenic attributes, the property contains historic agricultural land, significant swaths of bottomland riparian forest, and native grasslands.

"The Butte is a cherished landmark in Missoula and we're delighted it will now be preserved" said Commissioner Barbara Evans.

McCauley Butte was first settled by Michael and Margaret McCauley in the late 1870s.  Michael was an officer at Fort Missoula and operated a dairy on the property.  John and Frieda Klapwyk purchased the land from the McCauley’s in the 1950s and raised livestock and hay on the property for several decades until it was sold to Northern Lights in 2004.   The familiar landmark of McCauley Butte was recognized as a “cornerstone” of Missoula’s 1995 Urban Area Open Space Plan.

Although the land will remain in private ownership and the easements do not mandate public access, the potential recreational benefits associated with the easements are considerable.  Northern Lights is working with the City of Missoula on a plan that would grant to the public a trail access to the top of the butte.

Meanwhile, the important natural values of the butte will remain intact and undeveloped, gracing the southern gateway of Missoula with an unmarred and welcoming view of this cherished landmark.

“Whether seen by land, air, or water, this property truly is one of Missoula’s most spectacular open space gems,” said former Five Valleys Land Trust Executive Director Wendy Ninteman, “and now there are conservation easements in place to protect this scenic landmark and riverfront treasure from development.”

3) Primm Meadow- A Regional Treasure Protected

There are few sights as beautiful and rare as a stand of old growth ponderosa pine towering over a landscape where it has stood silent guard for hundreds of years. Primm Meadow, just a short distance from Missoula in the Gold Creek drainage, is such a place. All who cherish the magnificent pines of Primm Meadow were rewarded in the summer of 2005 when the Plum Creek Timber Company moved forward to protect the 112 acre meadow with the donation of a conservation easement to Five Valleys Land Trust.

A few among us have long known of the meadow and its wonderful secrets. Once, Native Americans frequented the area seeking the sugary sap stored in the cambium of the thick bark of the ponderosa pines. Later, homesteaders settled among the pines to carve out a living from the surrounding land, providing a wonderful example of the way the land shaped the lives of those who lived and worked there. And for years, silviculturalists have recognized Primm Meadow as a valuable remnant of the ponderosa pine forests that once blanketed much of our western Montana landscape, providing lush grasses and trees resistant to the ravages of fire that consume nearby, more densely forested lands. Primm Meadow has stood the test of time. In recent years, a group calling itself “Friends of Primm” formed in the hope of developing a strategy to protect the meadow and to capitalize upon the unique educational opportunities it could provide.

Now, with the gift of a conservation easement and the perpetual protection it assures, this wonderful slice of our priceless natural and historic heritage will remain intact and undisturbed for future generations. The easement was granted in honor of David Leland, former president and chief executive officer of Plum Creek, but it also honors the place itself with the acknowledgement that Primm Meadow is something very special and worth keeping just the way it is. We at Five Valleys are grateful for this generous gift, and immensely pleased that we could play a role in the protection of this wonderful place.

4) Missoula County Open Lands Working Group

A working group of Missoula County rural landowners has completed its report to the Missoula County Commissioners identifying tools to give rural residents access to more options that support land conservation.
View report summary (7.3MB Pdf) View the full report (53MB Pdf) >>

5) Cedar Creek Acquisition-Land Purchase Protects Native Fish Habitat

Just upstream from Superior, Cedar Creek tumbles into the Clark Fork from its headwaters in the shadow of the Montana-Idaho border. For centuries, bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout have spawned in the clear, cold waters of this stream. Today, it is one of only four viable bull trout spawning streams in the entire middle reach of the Clark Fork River. And it may be the only major tributary to the Clark Fork in that reach that harbors only native species. It is a key to the health and vitality of the cold-water fishery of the Clark Fork.

Because of those unique qualities, FVLT agreed in late 2004 to facilitate the public acquisition of 204 acres along a five mile stretch of Cedar Creek that contains the key spawning habitats for those native species. Learn More >>

SIGNATURE PROJECTS

1) Alberton Gorge (2004)

The Alberton Gorge is protected forever. After more than a decade of work, including an extended six-year public process, a series of land transactions were finalized in late November 2004 bringing key private lands along the Alberton Gorge into public ownership. The complex land exchange involved ten parcels of land throughout western and central Montana and five different parties—NorthWestern Energy, the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP), the U.S. Forest Service, Five Valleys Land Trust, and the River Network.

The most significant transaction involved the transfer of 306 acres lining the Alberton Gorge from NorthWestern Energy through the land trust to FWP.

“The Alberton Gorge holds special meaning for Montanans and outdoor enthusiasts everywhere. We’re pleased to be part of a collaborative effort to protect the Gorge for future generations,” said Mike Hanson, Chief Operating Officer of NorthWestern Energy.
News Coverage>>

2) Mount Sentinel Land Acquisition (2003)

As with all good things, the acquisition of these Mount Sentinel lands took time. In 1998, Five Valleys Land Trust initiated discussions about protecting the property with the family of longtime owners, Walter and Evelyn Cox. The City of Missoula came in early as a partner, and in 2000 purchased 475 acres on the face of Mount Sentinel using $175,000 of open space bond funds.

The focus then shifted to the backside of the mountain, where in 2001, with help from The Trust for Public Lands, an option to purchase the remaining lands was secured. The City of Missoula again came forward with a $100,000 commitment toward the acquisition. The broad support from the public, the City of Missoula and the Missoula County Commissioners then caught the attention of the Montana Congressional delegation. Led by Sen. Conrad Burns, the delegation secured federal Land and Water Conservation funding for the remaining $800,000 needed to purchase the property. On July 8, the Lolo National Forest used those funds to complete the purchase.

It was another in long and proud tradition of private-public partnerships that has succeeded in helping to protect those things we value so highly about living here. Mount Sentinel is one of Missoula’s most spectacular open space treasures. Now, thanks to the vision and generosity of the Cox family, the support of our local governments, state and federal agencies, our Congressional delegation, and to the hard work of so many Missoulians who cherish it, the mountain will always remain open and wild for us all to enjoy.
News Coverage >>

3) Mount Jumbo (1997)

Like its counterpart (Mt. Sentinel) on the south side of the Clark Fork River, Mount Jumbo’s open slopes and timbered groves is an open lands fixture in the Missoula Valley.  Providing important wildlife habitat and occupying a significant portion of the Missoula basin’s viewshed, Mt. Jumbo is a critical part of the landscape that has shaped and defined life in the Missoula area for generations.

Five Valleys Land Trust’s efforts to protect Mount Jumbo began in 1991 with the launching of our “Land and Waters for Wildlife” project.  One of this project’s goals was to conserve critical wildlife habitat in and around the Missoula area.  Our focus at this time concerned 3 elk herds – O’Brien Creek, Grant Creek and Mount Jumbo/Rattlesnake, encompassing 6000 acres and more than 400 elk.  Partners in this effort were the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Montana DFWP, Lolo National Forest, Missoula County and the UM Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit.  While others focused on Grant Creek and O’Brien Creek, FVLT took the leadership role on Mount Jumbo.  By 1993, FVLT was busy negotiating with 4 Mount Jumbo landowners. Learn More >>