Private Lands Into Public Hands: Nonprofit, Private, and Federal Partners Collaborate to Add 5,500 Acres of Wildlife Habitat to the Public Domain
In recent weeks, three exciting news stories have highlighted the ongoing wildlife conservation successes occurring across the nation
Sometimes, the story isn’t about keeping public lands in public hands. Sometimes, the story is about putting private lands into public hands. Here are three of those—all have occurred in just the past couple of weeks.
A recent transfer of former private timberlands in northwestern Montana’s Cabinet Mountains to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) will improve the recovery chances of the smallest grizzly bear population in the lower 48 states.
Facilitated by The Vital Ground Foundation—my favorite conservation organization, which I encourage you to support as well—the land transfer involved the Falls Creek Project, a 160-acre parcel that includes a hiking trail to one of the largest waterfalls in the area and provides access to the larger Cabinet Mountains Wilderness Area.
The transfer was completed using the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and shows what’s possible when private, public, and non-profit partners collaborate on protecting and conservating wildlife habitat.
This is one of those stories that offer hope in a time when public lands, waters, and wildlife are under all kinds of threats.
I don’t think you’ll see this particular story reported in many other places. Which is exactly why I decided to write about this today instead of other, perhaps more attention-grabbing headlines I could’ve chosen.
While other negative stuff deserves coverage—and I will obviously continue to write about it and put it into context—I really felt like writing a positive story today.
I’m sure you could use one as well.
“This unique parcel, situated along the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness, serves as a key link between lower elevation recreational opportunities and the higher, more rugged Wilderness experience. We are excited to manage the land appropriately and maintain public access for all to enjoy,” said Kootenai National Forest Supervisor Chad Benson. “This was an excellent example of collaboration, with many people in different groups working towards a common goal of land conservation.”
The Vital Ground Foundation’s Falls Creek Project encompasses timberlands that used to be private property. They were then acquired by “conservation-minded individuals looking to transfer ownership but keep the land as open space with public access.”
“The landowners recognized that the public has always enjoyed access to these private lands and adjacent public lands,” said Mitch Doherty, Conservation Director for Vital Ground. “This project ensures that access will continue while also conserving an important area for grizzly bear recovery.”
Now under the management of the USFS, the project will provide public recreation opportunities, while also protecting the open space needed by various wildlife in the area, which migrates between lower elevations and the high country in the Cabinet Mountains.
That wildlife includes native trout, elk, wolverine, wolves, and moose, as well as a small population of approximately 50 grizzly bears that roam the Cabinet Mountains and the Yaak Valley further north.
Both the Cabinets and the Yaak Valley form the Cabinet-Yaak Grizzly Bear Recovery Zone, one of six such zones identified by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Only four of them, however, actually have a grizzly bear population—and the Cabinet-Yaak has the smallest of them all.
“Amid an ongoing regional real estate and development boom, maintaining open habitat is crucial to these [Cabinet-Yaak] bears’ slow road to durable recovery,” the Falls Creek Project page explains.
“Maintaining open habitat is crucial to the slow recovery of the Cabinet-Yaak grizzly population,” Vital Ground said in a press statement on May 21, in which they announced the land transfer to Kootenai National Forest. “The Falls Creek Project will help both these bears and local residents stay safe by conserving an important habitat buffer between mountain habitat and more developed areas around nearby Savage Lake.”
Lands adjacent to the 160-acre project area are also already under conservation protection through the USDA Forest Legacy Program, which creates a crucial buffer.
Now that these formerly private timberlands are federal public land, the recreation economy in the area will also get a boost.
“The Falls Creek Project is a win-win for conservation and for the Troy community,” said Shawna Kelsey, a local businessowner and former president of the Troy City Council. “The Falls Creek land is a gem whose protection is broadly supported as a resource for its cultural and ecological values but also its recreation assets.”
“That area has long been a local favorite hiking and biking spot, and it would have been devastating to many if the land had been subdivided and developed, locking the public out,” she said. “As Troy is being sought out more and more for its recreation opportunities, it is invaluable to have more front-country hiking options for visitors and locals alike.”
As the project provides significant benefits to both wildlife and people, it has received tons of support. Montana senators, Troy city council members, its mayor, the Kootenai Forest Stakeholders Collaborative, and a broad majority of residents in the Savage Lake area all endorsed the Falls Creek Project.
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Atira Conservation, onX, The Weeden Foundation, and myriad individual contributors also expressed their support.
The Vital Ground announcement of the transfer of private lands into public hands followed another very similar story just a few days earlier.
On May 18, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition (GYC) and The Conservation Fund celebrated the addition of a tract of 161 acres on Crevice Mountain to the public domain, also in Montana—and also in collaboration with the Forest Service.
In that case, it didn’t involve former timberlands but land that had previously been identified as the site for a potential gold mine on the border of Yellowstone National Park.
“Over the last three years, GYC worked closely with our partners and private landowners on Crevice Mountain to ensure the successful transition of land and mineral rights from private ownership to public stewardship,” the GYC wrote in a blog post. “Now we are celebrating 161 acres of new public land in Montana through two transfers: a 148-acre Crevice Mountain Mining Company parcel and the 13-acre Emma parcel.”
With funds provided by the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund—just like Vital Ground’s Falls Creek Project—the Forest Service purchased both parcels, “turning them into public land and forever protecting them from development” as part of the Custer-Gallatin National Forest.
“The area provides vital habitat for grizzly bears; it is a critical migration corridor for elk, mule deer, and bighorn sheep; and is one of the few designated places outside the park where Yellowstone bison can roam,” the GYC wrote. “Crevice Mountain overlooks nearly half the park all the way to the Teton Range.”
Crevice Mountain and Custer-Gallatin National Forest are part of the USFWS’s Greater Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Recovery Zone.
“By securing land within this critical landscape on the edge of Yellowstone, we’re doing more than safeguarding a vital habitat,” said Gary Sullivan, Montana Senior Advisor at The Conservation Fund. “We’re honoring a way of life that defines Montana and ensuring future generations can experience the same wild, open spaces that make this place so special.”
And on May 18, the Interior Department announced that the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission had approved over $67 million for the restoration and conservation of “critical wetland and associated upland habitat for migratory birds across the United States,” which are among the most threatened ecosystems in the nation
That included more than $22.6 million of funding to purchase 5,254 acres of waterfowl habitat for three different national wildlife refuges:
Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge, Illinois – 76 acres
Moody National Wildlife Refuge, Texas – 3,535 acres
Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Virgina – 1,643 acres
The money to acquire these lands from willing sellers mainly came from the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, collected through the iconic “Duck Stamps,” as well as from import taxes on firearms and ammo.
“Projects made possible through North American Wetlands Conservation Act grants make an investment in wetland conservation, supporting local economies and boosting outdoor recreation industries. We all benefit from healthier ecosystems and more abundant fish and wildlife,” said Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik. “The funding for national wildlife refuges will provide increased public opportunities for wildlife-dependent recreation, including hunting, fishing and wildlife observation.”
Since its inception in 1934, the Federal Duck Stamp Program has raised over $1.3 billion for habitat conservation. Funded primarily by hunters and anglers, though everyone can buy a Duck Stamp and contribute, it’s one of the most successful conservation programs in the world.
I recommend reading my article about Jay “Ding” Darling—an avid sportsman, passionate conservationist, and the designer of the very first Duck Stamp—for a deeper dive into wildlife refuges. (He also designed the iconic “Blue Goose” symbol, which still defines the boundaries of national wildlife refuges today.)
“Wherever you meet this [Blue Goose] sign, respect it,” said Rachel Carson, author of “Silent Spring” and former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, about the importance of bird habitat conservation.
“It means that the land behind the sign has been dedicated by the American people to preserving, for themselves and their children, as much of our native wildlife as can be retained along with our modern civilization.”
So, in a time when our public lands and waters are under assault from all directions, it’s also important to, as often as you can, take a moment and appreciate the positive things that also continue to occur—through the work of nonprofits, private groups and individuals, federal agencies, and laws passed decades ago.
It’s not all doom and gloom out there.
The wheels of conservation do still turn.
These public land additions—in Montana, Illinois, Virginia, and Texas—are living proof of that.
This is all just to say that you don’t have to bury yourself in bad news all the time. You don’t have to chase outrage sparked by fear-mongering headlines every day. You don’t have to contact your congresspeople about every single new little issue someone writes about.
Yes, big bad things are happening—and I cover almost all of them: the Boundary Waters, the Big Bend border barrier, reductions-in-force and other layoffs, the new BLM director, budget and funding issues, gutting environmental protections,…
But that doesn’t mean that good things stopped happening.
So, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, it’s perfectly okay to take some time for yourself. To look for positive stories. To actually go outside and contribute to projects like those I wrote about above.
By all means, support conservation organizations financially if you can, but, even better, volunteer for habitat restoration projects, clean-up initiatives, trail work, etc.
I promise it’ll make you feel better and you’ll be doing something that actually helps on the ground.
As I’ve done a number of times before, I’ll end this with my favorite conservation quote, by arguably the greatest conservation writer in American history, Edward Abbey.
I keep coming back to this on a very regular basis and you might find it useful in times of worry, concern, or even despair as well.
Do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am—a reluctant enthusiast, a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here.
So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space.
Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators.
I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards.
Thanks for reading!
See you on our public lands and waters,
Bram
Image 1: My own photo
Image 2: USFWS
Image 3: USFS
Image 4: GYC / William Campbell (screenshot)
Image 5: USFWS / Paul Welch
Thank you very much for these positive things that have happened recently! 😊 Definitely a time that we should appreciate. .
I love the ending quote!
Thank you to those who are helping our public lands!