The Flathead County Land Trust was awarded the 2013 Wildlife Conservation Award on Feb. 28 by the Montana Chapter of the Wildlife Society.

The trust works closely with private landowners who want to conserve open space and traditional working uses on their land through voluntary agreements called conservation easements.

The local nonprofit was awarded for its 27 years of conservation success in and around the Flathead Valley. It currently holds 51 conservation easements protecting more than 10,459 acres and plays an integral role in helping other organizations protect another 2,231 acres.

The trust with other organizations helped form and steer the Flathead River-to-Lake Initiative, which protects land along the mainstem of the Flathead River along with the river’s many sloughs and the north shore of Flathead Lake.

For more information, visit online at www.flatheadlandtrust.org and http://joomla.wildlife.org/Montana.