-By Jim Auger, Mission Valley landowner

I first experienced the beauty of Montana when I was 8 or 9 years old. Born and raised on a wonderful lake in Minnesota, I thought there was no place that could top the grandeur of my home state. That was until my family spent the first of many summers at Flathead Lake Lodge in Bigfork. For two weeks every summer I was able to revel in the beauty and magic of Montana.
It still takes my breath away as it did the very first time that we crested the top of the hill on Highway 93 near the National Bison Range. I knew at that moment this was a special place, an unspoiled part of the wilderness Montana had to offer. My passion for this area compelled me to return here to attend college at The University of Montana. After graduation, I followed a job out of Montana and was successful at climbing the corporate ladder, but I knew there was something missing. At the peak of my career I resigned to move home . . . back to Montana. In the past, this land in the Mission Valley had been grazed pretty hard, and I knew that Mother Nature could use some help to restore her natural ecosystems. In an effort to return the land to native range conditions I have planted many native willows, wild roses, and other indigenous plants. I have also restored the cattails and other vegetation with the hopes that
such efforts will provide the Red Wing Blackbird, Yellow Headed Blackbirds and other wildlife with a safe and protected place to nest and raise their young.
I plan to someday build a small retreat for my family to be able to relax and gaze out the windows at the wonderful view of our Mission Mountains. The cattle are still a welcome and vital part of the history of this land and will continue to graze and be responsibly managed. My goal is to leave this magical property better than I found it and that future generations will
be able to enjoy this priceless viewshed as much as I have. I also hope that by being the first easement for Five Valleys in the Mission, I have helped to open the door for other landowners in this area to join me and Five Valleys in conserving this land. I would love to know that fifty years from now a little boy, driving with his family and cresting that hill into the Mission Valley, will experience the same view and feelings that took my breath away when I was young.