Looking back and ahead

The Swan Valley is a special, unique landscape with an abundance of public lands, clean water, wildlife and other natural resources intermixed with a vibrant human community. This abundance of natural resources is what we treasure most, and we lead rich lives because of it.

Starting in 1997, both Swan Ecosystem Center and Northwest Connections formed as nonprofit conservation and education organizations. Their goals were to promote better stewardship of the land, inspire conservation for future generations, and provide collaborative processes where people with differing values could improve sustainable land and forest management in the Swan Valley. In 2016 these two organizations merged and renamed themselves Swan Valley Connections (SVC), a single nonprofit that has continued to build upon the successful legacy of conservation, experiential outdoor education and stewardship formed by these predecessors.

At SVC, we are proud of the accomplishments that we have achieved over the past 28 years since our organization's inception. Our forest stewardship program has helped over 300 private landowners reduce wildfire risk on their properties - while increasing firefighter effectiveness and safety - by treating over 3,300 acres. Our wetland restoration program has helped restore over 790 acres of previously ditched and drained wetlands, benefiting waterfowl, other wildlife and water quality. Working with valued partners, we restored habitat on the Swan River National Wildlife Refuge, which was the largest wetland restoration project in Montana's history. We have distributed over 490 bear-resistant trash cans to residents and have built 52 electric fences to contain various bear attractants, promoting human-bear coexistence. In partnership with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), we have annually fundraised and hired contract wilderness rangers to steward the Mission Mountains Wilderness and Swan Front. Our rare carnivore monitoring and research program has documented wolverine and Canada lynx distribution and abundance across the Southwest Crown of the Continent ecosystem, providing valuable data for researchers and land managers. We've also provided experiential outdoor education programs to thousands of kids, students and adults.

One of our crowning achievements was our involvement in the Montana Legacy Project, in which The Nature Conservancy and Trust for Public Land ultimately purchased the remaining 67,000 acres of Plum Creek Timber Company's lands in the Swan Valley and other parts of western Montana (310,000 acres total), preserving those lands from being sold off in large quantities to private investors and being developed. These lands have largely since been divested of into USFS and Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation hands, preserving the outdoor legacy for anyone who wants to hunt, fish, hike, camp, or recreate, while also preserving the legacy of forest management.

As one of the largest employers in the upper Swan Valley, SVC employs nine full-time, year-round staff members and several seasonal positions. Not only do our employees support the local economy, but we provide work for a multitude of local contractors each year who provide many of the stewardship services listed above to private landowners. Our forest stewardship program, for example, has provided nearly $4 million worth of projects and jobs for 37 different contractors and their employees, while also sending over $1.3 million worth of wood products to local mills.

Since 1997, SVC has largely done most of this work based out of our current office space at the Condon Work Center. The facility has provided a place to convene our many valued partners, host education events for students of all ages, provide information and resources to visitors, offer a space where landowners and contractors can meet with our staff, and so much more.

In May of 2024, the USFS entered a process to sell the Condon Work Center and asked SVC to vacate the property by the end of February 2025. After nearly 30 years at the compound, SVC suddenly faced a possible future without a place to convene partners, fulfill our mission and bring together our community and team. SVC worked diligently to analyze all available options.

Ultimately, we identified the property at 6787 MT Hwy 83 as a potential office and assessed the financial feasibility, mission delivery potential, local regulations and community interest around SVC's ownership. With 11 acres that include Swan River frontage, an ideal layout for offices and meeting spaces, a bright entry room for continued visitor services, storage for our program needs, and increased visibility along the highway in "downtown" Condon, the house promised to make an inviting home and gathering place for this new chapter of SVC.

Ultimately, we decided that this was the best solution for SVC's long-term future in the Swan Valley and purchased the property. We've been overwhelmed by the incredible generosity of several donors, who have already committed a large sum towards the purchase. However, SVC's growth and foundational strength rely heavily on paying off the funds pulled from our reserve account and owed on our mortgage loan. The sooner we reach this goal, the sooner SVC can be financially whole and focus solely on furthering our mission to inspire conservation and expand stewardship throughout the Swan Valley and beyond.

We're calling on the entire SVC community to be a part of this important moment and help us fully secure our future. Between NOW and Feb. 28, 2025, the Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg Foundation (LCAOF), which has a long history of supporting the Swan Valley community, has committed a dollar-for-dollar match for every gift that helps close the gap. We are so thankful for LCAOF giving us this amazing opportunity, and we now need to raise $117,000 of our remaining $234,000 goal.

We need your help to get us there and hope you will be a part of this historic moment in SVC's evolution, so that we can continue to offer the conservation, education and stewardship services that you've grown to expect from SVC.

Please go to http://www.swanvalleyconnections.org/the-river-house or give us a call at 406-754-3137 to donate or learn more.