Glacier Institute fundraising for potential nature center

The Glacier Institute is looking to raise roughly $2.5 million for the purchase of a 142-acre tract of land in Columbia Heights that could potentially become home to a nature center.

Institute officials announced June 29 that they were eyeing property along U.S. 2 just east of Columbia Falls and the Flathead River to potentially build the center, which would include trails, medicinal gardens, indoor and outdoor classrooms, nature viewing boardwalks and more. The Glacier Institute is the official educational partner for Glacier National Park and Flathead National Forest.

The idea to open a nature center between Columbia Falls and West Glacier was outlined in the organization’s 2021 strategic plan. Executive Director Anthony Nelson said in a statement that the organization didn’t expect to start pursuing the project for a few years, but the property “fell into their laps.” The tract of land is located across the highway from the White Raven Winery, and boasts landscaped ponds, waterfalls, hiking trails and wetlands.

The current plan calls for moving the institute’s office from downtown Columbia Falls to a house on the 142-acre property and begin developing concepts for a future nature center building.

“The land is a pristine habitat for elk, bear, birds and beavers. We could be teaching programs on site immediately, as well as hosting our guided day hikes that leave to go to Glacier National Park,” Nelson said in a statement.

The institute already has entered into a purchasing agreement with the landowners, but the deal requires the organization to raise funds in a short amount of time, officials said. After their office building sells, the institute will need an estimated $2.5 million to purchase the property.

Institute officials have tried to garner pledges for the past month, but to no avail. The owners are offering the institute a discount and have agreed to a time extension.

“It’s really a green light/red light situation, either someone will step up to help us fund the project and the community will benefit immensely or we will have to pass and keep waiting. Either way, we are giving it our best shot, we have to try,” Nelson said in a statement.

The property was most recently under consideration for a residential development, but when the proposal for a 180-unit subdivision on a connected 22-acre property fell through, the sale was called off. That subdivision proposal had earned criticism from residents and was voted down 5-2 by the Columbia Falls City Council in April.

Once it was clear the sale would not go through, the institute approached the property owners, Twin Peaks LLC.

“We are not an anti-development organization, but this particular piece of land holds an incredibly high ecological value to a wide host of species. The community has already expressed an interest in preserving this land, we’re hoping to do it in a way that everyone can benefit from,” Nelson said in a statement.

He said though their time frame to raise needed funds is tight, the site’s potential is too good to be ignored.

“I think one of the most exciting things for me personally, is going to be all the opportunities to get people out on that site — just for the day, like walking around the trails there,” Nelson told the Inter Lake. “Especially thinking about in the winter, sitting out there with spotting scopes and looking at elk that are hanging out there in the field on the property, and all the kind of opportunities that we'll have like that really gets me excited.”

Anyone interested in learning more about the nature center proposal can contact Nelson at 406-755-1211 or email naturecenter@glacierinstitute.org.

Reporter Taylor Inman can be reached at tinman@dailyinterlake.com.

Support local journalism — subscribe to the Daily Inter Lake today.