Thank you to the nearly 300 engaged community members who joined us and our partners MTB Missoula, The Nature Conservancy, Run Wild Missoula and Jeremy Lurgio for our Open Space Film Night last night!
We started off the night at Missoula Community Theatre by enjoying some beers generously donated by Big Sky Brewing Company. A huge thank you to Big Sky Brewing Company, whose donation enabled all the proceeds from the event to go towards our Mount Dean Stone project!
After, we ushered folks into the theatre for an update about our Mount Dean Stone project. This year, in addition to our ongoing conversations with private landowners, Five Valleys will be working closely with The Nature Conservancy to acquire 2,500 acres on the southeast flanks of Mount Dean Stone. This next stage of our project, Phase II, will eventually provide trailheads along Miller Creek Road that will connect to existing trails in Pattee Canyon.
After the update, we got down to the films! We were thrilled to be screening three regional short films about our open spaces and how we enjoy and protect them: The Hard Way, On the Shoulders of Giants: The Story of Montana Private Land Conservation, and Shift. The trio left us inspired for getting out on our open lands this spring, and Five Valleys was honored to be showing the Missoula premiere of On the Shoulders of Giants, which was provided to us by the Montana Association of Land Trusts.