New section added to land initiative

The Flathead Land Trust has finalized another conservation agreement as part of its ongoing Flathead River to Lake Initiative.

The agreement will protect more than 70 acres of forested land along the Flathead River near Eleanor Island through an easement that allows the landowner to continue managing the property as it has been in the past while preventing subdivision and development.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks secured money for the project from the Bonneville Power Administration’s fish and wildlife programs for mitigating habitat losses caused by the construction of Hungry Horse Dam.

The property includes wetlands, a third of a mile of riverbank and a spring creek. The importance of the property to the river system made it a high priority for BPA funding.

“We have been working hard with Flathead Land Trust and other partners to preserve water quality and promote riparian habitat for fisheries benefits in the Flathead River,” said Kris Tempel of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. “This is an important property to protect in that effort and we were happy to help secure funding for it.”

The project adds to more than 5,000 acres that have been protected under the Flathead River to Lake Initiative since it was launched in 2002.

The initiative’s success has been largely due to private landowners’ willingness to voluntarily conserve their properties.

“Conservation efforts like this project are often very complex and can take a few years to complete, but the final result is something that we all are very proud of and will prove to be a real benefit to the community over time,” said Ryan Hunter of the Flathead Land Trust.

Hunter said the landowners involved with the latest project requested that their names not be disclosed.