“It checks every box,” said Commissioner Josh Slotnick. “This project is fully consistent with what people voted for.”
Earlier this month, at a November 6th joint hearing of the Missoula City Council and the Missoula County Commissioners, both approved expending joint Missoula City-County Open Space Bond funds to support the protection of the Indreland Ranch.
Located north of Missoula along LaValle Creek, the Indreland Ranch has long supported agriculture and wildlife. The Indreland family purchased the property in the 1940s, and has utilized the property's grasslands, meadows, and forested lands to raise beef cattle, horses, and a hay crop. Importantly, the ranch provides a key linkage for wildlife, especially elk, moving between the North Hills, Ninemile Divide, Jocko Valley, and beyond.
Landowner Rory Indreland contacted Five Valleys a few years ago about protecting their ranch. Through the Indreland Ranch conservation easement project, 1,660 acres will be forever protected for agriculture, habitat connectivity, and the open, scenic lands that make Montana so special.
At the hearing, the City and County each agreed to expend $344,000 from their portions of the 2018 Missoula Open Space Bond, for a total bond ask of $688,000. Five Valleys, and funders including the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service's Agricultural Land Easement program, the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, and the Liz Claiborne Art Ortenberg Foundation, will contribute more than $1.7M to purchase the approximately $2.3M conservation easement and related project costs.
Five Valleys extends our thanks to the to the Indreland family for their generosity and vision, to Missoula County Commissioners, Missoula City Council, and our other project funders for their support, and to the citizens of Missoula County for their approval of the open space bonds that help conserve open lands across Missoula County. Five Valleys is also grateful for the generous community donors who make our work possible.
Header photo courtesy of the Indreland Family
