Land trusts play a critical role to benefit our community

As the executive director of Flathead Land Trust and a longtime member of this community, I’m writing in response to the July 29 letter to the editor titled “Land trusts can’t be trusted.” That letter misrepresents both the intent and function of land trusts in our region. I’d like to offer facts to correct the record — and reaffirm how land trusts like ours serve the public good. 

Land trusts are charitable, nonprofit organizations that exist to benefit the community. Ours — along with all 12 land trusts in Montana — is fully accredited by the national Land Trust Accreditation Commission, which holds us to rigorous standards of professionalism, transparency, and accountability. Our mission is rooted in conserving the natural and agricultural heritage of Northwest Montana, and that mission has only grown more vital over time. 

Flathead Land Trust began 40 years ago when a diverse group of locals — business owners, farmers, realtors and conservation-minded citizens — came together with a commitment to bringing conservation balance to increasing land development that the Flathead Valley was beginning to experience in the 1980s. Our core focus has not changed, we are still made up of Flathead Valley locals who love this place and the work we do to conserve habitat-rich and agriculturally productive private lands is still just as important, if not even more so today. 

The author of the letter incorrectly states that “nature conservancy land trusts are revocable.” Land trusts, including the Nature Conservancy, use voluntary land protection agreements called conservation easements in partnership with private landowners to permanently conserve lands that are important for agriculture, wildlife habitat, water quality and scenic open space.  These agreements are non-revocable and are perpetual.  Conservation easements are recorded and run with the title of the property throughout time. Future owners of the property are obligated to abide by the terms of the conservation easement and continue to steward the land to keep its conservation values intact for future generations.   

It was also incorrectly stated that conservation easements “artificially escalate real-estate prices by temporarily removing land from the market.” Land with a conservation easement can still be sold — it’s not removed from the market. The main difference is that the land cannot be subdivided or developed beyond agreed-upon limits. Because of these restrictions, such land is often more affordable than comparable unrestricted parcels. Escalating real-estate prices in the Flathead Valley are driven by many factors — chief among them, demand outpacing supply and the presence of buyers who are willing to pay higher purchase prices. Not the parcels of private land that have been conserved. In fact, conservation easements can help make large tracts of land more affordable.  

Lastly, the claim that land trusts enable “secretive investors picking their personal housing sites” mischaracterizes the very nature of our work. We partner with landowners who are rooted in their land — often multi-generational Montanans — who want to see their family farms, forests and open spaces preserved for the future. These are not anonymous investors; they are our neighbors, working to maintain the character, beauty and productivity of our region. 

At Flathead Land Trust, we believe in a future where clean water, wildlife habitat, working farms and scenic landscapes remain part of the fabric of Northwest Montana. That’s what land trusts help achieve — and it’s why our work continues to have strong support from communities across the state. 

Paul Travis is executive director of Flathead Land Trust.