Montana Land Reliance

Land projects: mlr worked with numerous landowners in 2022 to permanently protect their private lands for continued agricultural production, open space, and natural habitat. Twenty-seven conservation easements were donated or sold to mlr that protected, in perpetuity, approximately 66,658 acres, including over 51 miles of river/stream frontage. Mlr has protected a total of 1,286,862 acres of agricultural/recreational lands in Montana. That acreage includes 343,848 acres in The greater yellowstone ecosystem; 20,881 acres in The northern continental divide ecosystem; 221,415 acres of crop/hay/pasture lands; 1,065,447 acres of range and forest lands; 618,883 acres of elk habitat; and over 47,578 acres of wetlands. Over 1,956 miles of stream frontage have been protected by easements held by mlr to date. Specific expenditures related to Land projects included: general Land project planning and easement discussions expenditures of $229,061; completed easement projects and new Land projects negotiation expenditures of $125,734; non-collectible project accounts of $9,587; and purchased easements expenditures of $11,826,665 (round grove ranch i - $1,649,500; casey i - $1,145,877; martin & margaret clark - $705,060; axtell ranch - $2,675,000; middle fork Land & livestock - $2,747,621; carlson - $40,000; roen i - $1,550,444; sullivan - $100,000; halmes - $15,000; rimkus - $362,300; and mattson $835,863).

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. Expenditures related to mlr's outreach and education activities amounted to $425,345 in 2022. Those expenditures included general outreach activities to landowners, attorneys, accountants, government agencies, etc. - $296,497; publication materials (brochures, annual report, newsletters, etc.) - $22,553; and membership and outreach to state, regional, and national Land conservation/agricultural organization, etc., - $106,295.

Stewardship and monitoring: mlr stewardship staff (consisting of one stewardship director; one gis coordinator/land steward; one stewardship coordinator; and 19 part-time Land stewards) monitor each property on which mlr holds a conservation easement. This monitoring includes a visit to The subject property and discussions with The landowners/managers. 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. Mlr is in The process of digitizing all The easement project files for all mlr conservation easements that have been completed and are of record scanning of this documentation will enhance staff's ability to work efficiently with easement holders across The state. Mlr granted $165,985 to The Montana Land Reliance foundation inc., to be invested into The Land protection fund to cover stewardship and monitoring expenditures. Total expenses related to The stewardship, monitoring, and enforcement of conservation easements held by mlr amounted to $584,423, including $165,985 granted to The Montana Land Reliance foundation. General administration of The stewardship program; mapping of new/potential projects; digitizing of all existing easement files/documents accounted for $52,119. The remaining $366,319 covered The costs of The stewardship director, gis coordinator, stewardship coordinator, and 19 part-time Land stewards (salaries/benefits - $288,640; fees for services - $15,493; office expenses - $8,120; information technology - $12,434; occupancy - $8,813; travel/per diem - $25,661; and conference/conventions - $7,158). 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.