Montana Land Reliance

Land projects: mlr worked with numerous landowners in 2023 to permanently protect private lands for continued agricultural production, open space, and natural habitat. Twenty new conservation easements were completed by mlr in 2023 that protected, in perpetuity, approximately 32,885 acres. Mlr has protected a total of 1,319,747 acres of agricultural/recreational lands in Montana. That acreage includes 360,714 acres in The greater yellowstone ecosystem; 21,102 acres in The northern continental divide ecosystem; 227,971 acres of crop/hay/pasture lands; 1,091,776 acres of range and forest lands; 632,895 acres of elk habitat; and over 48,417 acres of wetlands. Over 1,994 miles of stream frontage have been protected by easements held by mlr to date.

Education and outreach activities: mlr staff travel across The state of Montana conducting meetings with potential clients, county planning boards, county commissioners, various agricultural groups/organizations, and other community groups to provide answers to their questions and to conduct general educational activities focused on The benefits of Land conservation and conservation easements. For these outreach activities, mlr publishes various educational brochures and an annual report to provide information and enhance The transparency of its public interest activities. Additionally, staff participate with numerous conservation groups to educate The public about The Land trust community's conservation efforts. In 2023, mlr granted $18,965 to The ruby habitat foundation for outreach use.

Stewardship and monitoring: mlr stewardship staff monitor each property on which mlr holds a conservation easement. Stewardship/monitoring activities carried out by staff involves visiting or viewing aerial photos of each easement property on an annual basis to ensure that The terms of The conservation easements are being upheld. The stewardship staff also works with existing easement holders to supply natural resource information for The landowner to improve their Land holdings for conservation purposes. Stewardship staff works with legal counsel in regard to any potential issues that arise regarding interpretation or enforcement of conservation easements held by mlr. In 2023, mlr granted $3,304,502 to The Montana Land Reliance foundation inc., to be invested into The Land protection fund to cover stewardship and monitoring expenditures.