by Whitney Schwab, Executive Director
If there’s one thing that being in the business of conservation gives you, it’s the long view. Most projects take years to complete. Good partnerships can span decades. Stewardship of conservation lands is a responsibility that lasts in perpetuity.
This year has been a challenge, reminding us to act swiftly and diligently amidst a rapidly changing operating environment. In the span of a few short months, many of the federal programs that Five Valleys has used to deliver enduring conservation throughout western Montana over the last 15 years, changed. Projects that have been years, and in some cases, generations in the making have been put in peril as a result.
The Agricultural Land Easement Program and Regional Conservation Partnership Program—both funded by the farm bill and run by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) within the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)—have helped us partner with landowners to purchase conservation easements. The Community Forest Program, managed by the USDA’s Forest Service, made the Mount Dean Stone Community Forest possible. Federal monies passed through state agencies facilitate many restoration projects in our region, including forest health and wildfire risk reduction work and weed mitigation Beyond Five Valleys, our partners and private landowners face similar challenges and uncertainties among programs that help share the responsibilty of good land management.
Despite this challenging time, we were able to complete the 836-acre Bloom Ranch conservation easement supported by our 2021 Regional Conservation Partnership Program award. Our partners in the state NRCS office were key in ensuring the project’s success amidst federal lstaffing changes and funding freezes. Our NRCS staff continue to be champions for conservation here in Montana while they face ongoing uncertainty in their roles.
We will continue to ensure successful conservation outcomes for western Montana. Federal farm bill funding helps keep working lands in working hands, providing food security to Montanans and our nation. There are many ways to do this work and many hands that want to help. By taking a patient and creative view, we can keep projects going and be on the lookout for new opportunities.
Sometimes this work is complicated and messy. But in that, there is also beauty: the land beneath our feet is what brings us together around common goals. It has for 53 years, and thanks to supporters like you, the momentum has never been greater. Onward we go!
Taking care of the land is a tremendous task. Yet the work landowners put into their land is what supports a landscape that is healthier, more productive, and more resilient. Hear from landowners Alison and Brandon Reintjes about their wildfire safety horse logging project in Pattee Canyon and from rancher Sandy Graveley about his family's conifer encroachment reduction project near Garrison.
In partnership with rancher Clare Bloom, 836 acres of the Upper Flint Creek Valley has been protected for agriculture and wildlife. Along with neighboring conservation lands, there is now a 3-mile wildlife habitat and agricultural lands buffer around Philipsburg.
In 2026, Five Valleys and our partners will break ground on new trails and the next chapter of the Mount Dean Stone Community Forest.
Naming beneficiaries to your retirement and other investment accounts can benefit your favorite causes and reduce estate taxes. Hear from supporter Tom Boone about this simple, and important, action.
Next time you hit the trails at the Confluence, new solar audio posts will beckon you to push their buttons and tell you their story.
What does caring for the land in Missoula's front country look like? Our 2025 Front County Stewardship Coordinator, Aicia Curran, reports.
Do you know the story of the trails and places you enjoy every day? That’s the question that Tales from the Trails, new trail running series with Run Wild Missoula, seeks to answer.
Header photo: Horse logging on the Erickson-Reintjes conservation easement property by Athena Photography
Whitney Schwab photo by Athena Photography
Bloom Ranch by Revealing Earth
Tom and Ann Boone courtesy of Tom Boone
Interpretation at the Confluence by Anastasia Wilde
Stewardship on front country lands courtesy of the Montana Conservation Corps
Tales from the Trails courtesy of Sidney Scarlett-Run Wild Missoula
