The bitter root land trust partners with local landowners and community groups to conserve clean water, wildlife habitat, and working farms and ranches in and around montana's bitterroot valley for present and future generations, utilizing conservation easements, fee purchases, and proactive land stewardship.

Environment , Land Resources Conservation

In 2017 bitter root land trust continued building our conservation legacy by securing three new conservation projects protecting important farmland, wildlife habitat, scenic open space, and public recreational opportunities on nearly 600 acres in the bitterroot valley. Bitter root land trust staff secured and spent over $800,000 from public and private sources to purchase a conservation easement on one of these important properties, which payment was made directly to the landowner during closing and does not appear as revenue or expenses of brlt on this 990. Additionally, bitter root land trust board and staff conducted due diligence and secured funding commitments in excess of $500,000 for several additional conservation easements on approximately to be finalized in the next several years. Bitter root land trust staff expanded our cooperative land stewardship grants program that enhances natural resources on conservation easement lands and neighboring properties. As we do every year, staff monitored all of 34 of our conservation easements in 2017. Bitter root land trust again invested in conservation education programs to raise community awareness - among adults and students - of the importance of the bitterroot valleys water, wildlife, and working agricultural lands. Program service area 1: conservation project workcompleted conservation projects: i. In november of 2017, bitter root land trust completed the 502-acre 61-bar ranch conservation easement with the smith family in stevensville, mt. This important ranch is the sixth and largest - ranch bitter root land trust has helped local families protect in the burnt fork drainage. The 61-bar ranch is comprised of prime soils, important wildlife habitat, and is the foreground of the vista looking east to the sapphire mountains for motorists and cyclists utilizing the eastside highway. Fishing and recreational access projects:i. In october of 2017, bitter root land trust secured a purchase agreement for 70 acres of riverfront land adjacent to hamilton, mt. This land acquisition (completed in january of 2018) will provide over a mile of riverfront trail access through open, natural areas to the community of hamilton. Bitter root land trust will ultimately donate this land to the city of hamilton for long-term use as a public park. Ii. In december of 2017, bitter root land trust accepted a 12-acre parcel of land along the banks of the east fork of the bitterroot river in sula, mt. This small parcel will become a fishing access and walking area for the public on a crucial stretch of the east fork. In addition to completing these critical conservation projects, bitter root land trust staff continued to work with local and federal partners to further agricultural conservation programs in the bitterroot valley that encourage high-value farmland conservation, agricultural diversification, and generational succession. Working with the natural resources conservation service, bitter root land trust identified and secured funding to conserve several working farms and ranches in 2017, while meetings with dozens of interested landowners yielded additional conservation projects that will proceed in 2018 and beyond. As a result of this partnership between bitter root land trust, local landowners, and the nrcs, many of these landowners will choose to conserve their critical pieces of the bitterroot valley. The bitter root land trust further implemented our collaborative neighborhood conservation model encouraging multiple landowners in identified priority areas to collectively protect their communities through conservation easements. Brlt staff followed up on previous meetings in several neighborhoods to explore mutually beneficial conservation measures, closed an additional conservation project in the burnt fork drainage, and cultivated several additional conservation easements in the burnt fork and corvallis agricultural corridor areas. These neighborhoods comprise the most highly