Ramping up for summer work on TNC lands

Summer is upon us and that means Nature Conservancy crews are deep into their season of fieldwork but we haven't been idle over the winter and spring.

We were excited to complete the first leg of a two-part sale of land in the Ninemile/Woodchuck area to the Bureau of Land Management. The first 4,600 acres were transferred in April and we expect to close soon on an additional 6,400 acres bringing the total to 11,000 acres permanently conserved for public use. Lots of numbers, but the bottom line is there is now more land permanently secured for high quality hiking, hunting and biking. In addition to recreation, these are "working" lands where there will be ongoing restoration and projects to improve forest health, as well as continued use by neighboring cattle ranches.

Speaking of forests, the weather and ground conditions afforded us a good opportunity to conduct several controlled burns on TNC land this past spring. The burns helped reduce the hazardous fuels that had accumulated and could have fed fires that could threaten nearby communities. As always, we are thankful to the many partners – public and private – who lend their skills and energy to make these burns safe and successful.

Great partners also helped kick off a visioning process for the future use of Placid Lake State Park and the adjoining TNC land. For as long as we can recall, the park has been the only public access to the lake and its opportunities for camping, boating, swimming and fishing. In addition to the land managed by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, adjacent areas along Placid Lake Road and Owl Creek are owned by TNC.

As use of the area continues to rise, FWP and TNC are partnering to look at how land under both ownerships is used and what impacts are resulting. We very much want your ideas – the public who live by and use this land – to be part of determining its future.

The newest addition to our crews is John Laut. Laut comes to us from the Montana Conservation Corps. As a "Conservation Fellow," he will spend the next five months assisting TNC by patrolling and stewarding our forest lands and educating summer users about our Montana Forests Open Lands Policy.

He originally hails from Massachusetts where, growing up, his parents instilled a love of nature in him and he figured, "Why not study it and make a career of doing what I love." If you run into Laut, feel free to chat him up or just say hi.

The trend seems to be continuing to vacation close to home this year. Wherever your plans take you, higher numbers of campers, bikers and other outdoor enthusiasts all have an impact on our lands and the wildlife that depend on them. We remind everyone to treat these places respectfully and follow posted regulations. Watch out for those campfires, stay on the trail and please pack out what you pack in so both nature and people benefit!

Enjoy the summer!