These easements provide lasting protection for some very special lands. In a heightened climate for subdivision and unsuitable development of agricultural lands, these easements protect valuable open space. They preserve critical fish and wildlife habitat and they sustain well managed agricultural operations. These lands are the foundation of Montana's economy and culture. MLR's 2000 conservation achievements bring our 22-year conservation total to 442 easements on 405,490 acres.
Private landowners continue to work together to conserve rural neighborhoods.
While each easement is a special gift in itself, the cumulative impact of several easements in one neighborhood makes a lasting gift to the entire state. We are beginning to see intact watersheds coming under easement as well as wildlife migration corridors that depend on private lands. As we witnessed in 1999, more than half of our new easements are adjacent to or in the same neighborhoods as existing easements. Private landowners in the Bitterroot, Madison, Smith, Boulder, Yellowstone, Stillwater, Blackfoot, Swan and Big Hole river valleys have come together to create meaningful and widespread conservation neighborhoods. Neighbors living in the Flathead Lake area, the Musselshell River valley and the Highwood and Bridger mountains have created similar enclaves of private land conservation.