Flathead Land Trust was one of 42 land trusts selected to secure the Regional Conservation Partnership Program grant from the United States Department of Agriculture to conserve 3,000 acres of the Mission Valley in the Ronan and Pablo area. 

This highly competitive $7.85 million grant provides funding for the trust to purchase conservation easements from about 10 producers in the Mission Valley Conservation Partnership project. Laura Katzman, a land protection specialist with Flathead Land Trust, said their proposal was selected thanks to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, who made a big contribution in helping leverage this funding. 

As part of Flathead Land Trust’s proposal, CSKT Tribal Council agreed to place 3,000 acres of tribal land alongside the Flathead River into a conservation easement. Katzman explained that their project area is adjacent to tribal land. 

A conservation easement is a voluntary permanent legal agreement between a landowner and an organization that permanently limits certain uses of a property to protect its natural, scenic, historic or agricultural values. The landowner still owns and manages the land and can sell or pass it on, while the easement stays with the land in perpetuity. 

CSKT communication director Rob McDonald stated in an email that the efforts seek to protect working agricultural lands in the northern Mission Valley while preserving water quality, wildlife habitat and the cultural landscape of the Flathead Indian Reservation. Katzman added that creating land blocks protects both wildlife and agriculture in the area.

“The partnership builds on decades of Tribal investment in land and resource protection. For CSKT, conserving productive farmland also supports long-term goals of food sovereignty and agricultural independence, while protecting resources threatened by subdivision and development,” McDonald stated.  

CSKT’s 3,000 acres are estimated to be worth at least $7.5 million, according to McDonald. In total, the project will conserve about 10,000 acres of the Mission Valley. 

“We feel very fortunate that we were able to obtain the grant,” Katzman said. 

The $7.5 million grant will be used to purchase the easements, which is cash that goes directly to producers. Katzman said this funding will be used over the next five years as they complete this project. 

“It’s a huge opportunity for farmers. If they just wanted to keep farming, this is just a bonus to keep farming, and maybe they can use it for paying off debt or retirement,” she said. 

Flathead Land Trust serves Northwest Montana in five counties and has worked substantially in the Flathead Valley and Mission Valley. Katzman explained that Flathead Land Trust believes the Mission Valley is a special place experiencing development pressure like the Flathead Valley. 

While the Mission Valley has seen increasing development, she said it still has strong agricultural producers and many opportunities to keep farmland over time. She added that, along with vast agricultural land, the valley also supports a diverse wildlife population, including grizzly bears and a significant migratory bird population. 

She said it is also the homeland of the Tribes, and while the tribal government has made efforts to buy back some land, it cannot keep up with development, making conservation easements “another tool” to keep these places intact. 

Flathead Land Trust has worked with the Tribes for years in various ways, and Katzman said that over the last couple of years, they’ve worked with the CSKT Natural Resources Department to protect lands. 

Katzman said that before the project received funding, they already had about five landowners committed, and in total they aim to fund 10 projects with this funding.