A vital wildlife haven in the Mission Valley was protected last week through a conservation easement with Flathead Land Trust. This easement serves as a crucial link, connecting the Mission Mountain Wilderness to a vast network of more than 18,000 acres of previously conserved lands.

According to a press release from the Flathead Land Trust, the 40-acre property provides critical habitat and a travel corridor for grizzly bear and a wide range of wildlife species. Mollman Creek, meandering through the parcel for a third of a mile, and several pothole wetlands supply crucial water sources and riparian habitat.

The landowners have observed frequent visits from grizzly bear, black bear and white-tailed deer, along with bobcat, mountain lion, elk, and myriad other mammals and birds.

Located near the Kicking Horse Waterfowl Production Area and Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge, designated as an Important Bird Area by Montana Audubon, the property significantly enhances critical bird habitat. The landowners have observed 116 bird species on-site including 11 “species of concern,” such as a great grey owl pair that raised their young on the property, and northern goshawk.

“This easement provides essential nesting and wintering grounds as well as resting and refueling habitat,” says Jennifer Guse, Flathead Land Trust Communications, Outreach and Special Projects Coordinator. “It lies within a major stopover site in the Intermountain West portion of the Pacific Flyway.”

The conservation easement also safeguards a unique habitat and a rare plant species. A skunk cabbage-dominated wetland, similar to a habitat type listed as “imperiled” by the Montana Natural Heritage Program, forms part of the diverse riparian mosaic along Mollman Creek. A rare Impatiens species is nestled within a few of the wetlands too.

With a deep-rooted agricultural heritage, more than 70% of the land encompasses soils classified as “farmland of local or statewide importance.” The conservation easement ensures that the farmland on the property remains as undeveloped open space and is available for agriculture into the future.

“Securing this valuable conservation easement allows wildlife to continue to move freely between the Mission Mountain Wilderness and a large protected wetland complex in the valley bottom,” writes Guse. “Both wildlife and humans can continue to thrive in a region where they have coexisted for many years.”

This conservation project was made possible through funding from the Cinnabar Foundation, Vital Ground Foundation, Richard King Mellon Foundation through the Heart of the Rockies Initiative Keep It Connected Program, and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Wildlife Mitigation Program.

Completion of the easement has helped Flathead Land Trust increase the pace of conservation in a rapidly growing region. Over the past 40 years, the organization has placed 80 properties under conservation easement, collaboratively protecting nearly 20,000 acres in northwest Montana.

For more information, visit flatheadlandtrust.org.

    A northern goshawk hunts on the 40-acre parcel south of Ronan recently preserved by a conservation easement. (Flathead Land Trust)