At The Montana Land Reliance (MLR), we believe that keeping Montana wild means protecting all the pieces that make up a healthy landscape. While the big, iconic species may be what first comes to mind when we picture the American West, Montana’s open spaces are also home to countless smaller species that are easy to overlook but just as important.
Across the state, MLR conservation easements protect a remarkable range of habitat, from native grasslands and sagebrush steppe to wetlands, forests, and riverbanks. In northwest Montana, an area known for its exceptional biodiversity, conserved lands provide habitat for an extraordinary variety of flora and fauna. Every acre we help protect can play a role in giving these species the space they need to thrive.
Take water howellia, a rare aquatic plant found in just a handful of locations in Montana. The species depends on shallow, seasonal wetlands, and its presence is an indication of a healthy, functioning wetland ecosystem. On an MLR-protected property in the Swan Valley, a conservation easement helps safeguard the wetlands this rare plant needs to persist. According to the Swan Ecosystem Center, the property may have the largest concentration of known howellia ponds on any private parcel in the world.
On another property in the Flathead, a conservation easement helped protect habitat for northern leopard frogs. The abundance of frogs on the property in the early 2000s made it possible for the population to be studied and included in reintroduction efforts elsewhere in the Flathead. Northern leopard frogs have experienced significant declines west of the Continental Divide, making the protection of suitable habitat especially important.
“Conservation easements on working lands protect critical habitat for rare species,” said MLR Western Manager Mark Schiltz. “By protecting the larger landscape from subdivision and development, landowners are helping preserve the conditions that allow these species to persist.”
Most Montanans will never own a farm or ranch, but we all benefit from protected working lands. We see wildlife moving across them. We fish and hunt in the surrounding country. We hike, birdwatch, take scenic drives, and enjoy knowing that there are still places where wild things have room to thrive. Landowners who choose to conserve their properties are protecting open spaces and wild places for generations to come.
You don’t have to be an expert in rare plants or know how to identify a northern leopard frog to appreciate what these places provide. If you value the plants and animals – large and small – that make Montana unique, our work Keeps it Wild for you.
Reach out to us. We want to hear what you love about Montana’s wild places.
Because Keeping it Wild means making room for all of it.
