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If you've visited Nature Conservancy land in the Seeley-Swan area in the past few months, there's a good chance that you've run into Tayler Templin. An avid camper, hiker, angler and photographer, this 2019 University of Montana graduate is putting her skills to work as TNC's Recreation and Stewardship Intern. Tayler graduated in May with a degree in Parks, Tourism and Recreational Resources Management. Every day, Tayler is out on the ground making sure that everyone can enjoy and protect these...
In late February, the U.S. House of Representatives moved to save the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), approving a sweeping package of public lands bills that includes a measure to permanently reauthorize the program for the first time in its 54-year-history. The package, approved by the Senate earlier in February with near-unanimous support, puts an end to the cycle of expiration and renewal LWCF has suffered in recent years. The fund last expired in September, prompting a bipartisan group of lawmakers to push for permanent...
Thanks to public meetings, growing partnerships and many conversations with local residents and business, The Nature Conservancy has learned a great deal in the four years since acquiring 117,000 acres of land in the Seeley-Swan area. Time and time again, we are reminded that conservation and community go hand in hand. Sustainable conservation needs a healthy community and healthy communities need conservation. We know that when problems come up and issues need to be addressed on the landscape, the only way they get solved is when people work...
Last week, The Nature Conservancy staff from Washington state joined Montana staff to look at the forests burned this summer by the Liberty Fire, which affected roughly 7,000 acres of the land recently acquired by the Conservancy. Dozens of local contractors and crews from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and U.S. Forest Service have been working for weeks on rehabilitation efforts, including repair of roads and firelines. We are grateful for all of the good work and long days that have gone into this effort and...
When The Nature Conservancy (TNC) invested in its Clearwater Blackfoot Project, we were looking to the future. But not just the future of the forest as a haven for wildlife and important waterways. We were also investing in the future of the communities who work and play on this land. The unique structure of the investment allows us time to study the landscape’s and the community’s needs. We hope that we will be able to find permanent conservation outcomes that help communities that have long lived and worked these lands develop a more cer...
Propelled to fame by Norman MacLean’s “A River Runs Through It,” few Montana landscapes are as beloved as the Blackfoot River watershed. Those who are fortunate enough to live here come to know the forested valleys, hidden streams and elusive fishing holes where native westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout rise to dine. 2016 marks the 40th anniversary of The Nature Conservancy’s first conservation easement in the Blackfoot. In 1976, shortly after the passage of Montana’s conservation easement legislation, landowner Edna Brunner donated a...
When The Nature Conservancy acquired the 117,152-acre Clearwater Blackfoot Project in January, we knew that it would take some time on the ground to truly assess the condition of the property. We also knew that restoration and determining a long-term strategy for these lands would take a lot of help from everyone who cares about them. What we didn’t anticipate was the tremendous outpouring of support from community members and organizations. As we near the end of our first year on this project, we want to extend our sincerest thanks to the m...
