Gov. Gianforte, Land Board Expand Public Access to 33,000 Acres in Northwest Montana

First phase will protect recreational opportunities, wildlife habitat

• October 21 2024

HELENA, Mont. – As chair of the Montana Land Board, Governor Greg Gianforte today led the state’s conditional purchase of a 32,891-acre conservation easement to expand public access in northwest Montana.

“Expanding access to Montana’s public lands and recreational opportunities is a top priority for this administration,” Gov. Gianforte said. “The first phase of this project will maintain key hunting and fishing opportunities, while also ensuring critical wildlife habitat. We’ll continue to support our leading industries and protect Montana’s way of life.”

The easement is in the Salish and Cabinet mountains between Kalispell and Libby. This is the first phase of a potentially two-phased project totaling 85,792 acres of important timberland and fish and wildlife habitat. The easement will protect important wildlife habitat and key landscape connectivity, and provide permanent public recreation access. Forest management and sustainable timber harvest would continue.

Additionally, the land will provide a vital migration corridor and year-round habitat for moose, elk, mule deer, and white-tailed deer. Hunters and anglers have used these lands for generations.

In August, the governor led the Land Board’s purchase of more than 50,000 acres of habitat conservation leases (HCL) to increase public access, keep agricultural land in production, and conserve prairie habitat. HCLs are a voluntary, incentive-based agreement with private landowners that help ensure high-priority habitats are conserved while traditional agricultural activities, primarily livestock grazing, continue. Landowners commit to retaining wildlife habitats for 30 or 40-year terms.

Increasing public access to public lands is a top priority for the governor. Since the governor took office, Montanans gained access to more than 100,000 acres of public lands through new WMAs in the Big Snowy Mountains, Bad Rock Canyon, and along the Yellowstone River with expanded access at Mount Haggin, and a new state park at Somers Beach.