Vision & Principles
Our Vision
We strive to pass on our cherished lands legacy to our children and grandchildren. This legacy is the beautiful tapestry of northwest Montana’s lakes, rivers, farms and forests, all vital to our common natural heritage. These endowments are fundamental to the “Montana Way of Life,” to our sense of place and of ourselves in this place, as well as to our community’s prosperity and economic vitality. Flathead Land Trust wants to ensure that generations to come will have opportunities similar to ours to live, work and play on this rich land.
Three generations of the Kohrs family, who placed over 650 acres under conservation easement with Flathead Land Trust in 2022 (photo courtesy of the Daily Inter Lake).
Our Guiding Values
Our Sense of People and Place
We believe in the inseparable relationships among our communities, their people and our natural resources. We treasure northwest Montana’s natural bounty, comforted by its open vistas and mountain splendors that both invigorate our lives and expand our freedoms. As neighbors we share responsibility for sustaining this vibrant and diverse natural setting.
A family hiking at Lone Pine State Park. The Van Riper family worked with Flathead Land Trust to place a conservation easement on their 40-acre parcel of land in 2007, and add it to Lone Pine State Park.
Our Waters Unite Us
Northwest Montana’s lake and river systems are the heart of our natural legacy, nurturing us all by providing water for drinking, irrigation, and recreation. The long-term well being of our communities – our families, our towns and all who live in the watershed – depends on the health of our waters.
Braided channels of the Flathead River south of Kalispell, including Owen Sowerwine, placed under conservation easement with Flathead Land trust in 2024 (photo courtesy of Gravityshots.com).
Support for Farm and Ranch Families
We are fortunate that agriculture continues as a keystone of our communities. Our rich soils and open spaces are gifts that should never be squandered. That’s why we help support strong farms and ranches and the families that work them by reducing the economic pressure on landowners to convert their lands to development.
Ben, Bruce and Ken Louden. The Louden family collectively placed nearly 750 acres of agricultural lands under conservation easement with Flathead Land Trust from 2009 to 2010.
Sound Resource Stewardship
Visionary stewardship of our lands, waters, forests, wildlife habitat and open spaces – one of our most important responsibilities to future generations – enhances the lives of all and bolsters both our economy and our communities.
Valerie Beebe checks on one of her planted larch saplings. Val placed her 28-acre property west of Kalispell under conservation easement with Flathead Land Trust in 2011. Certifying her property as an American Tree Farm enabled Valerie to obtain funding to plant hundreds of trees on the property to help replace the mature forest.
Enhanced Individual Choices
Because individual freedom is the key to Montana’s way of life, we help provide landowners with positive choices for the future of their lands. We collaborate with them to develop lasting, beneficial alternatives for voluntary protection of their most valuable resources – the land and water.
The Flathead River envelopes the Diamond B Ranch in Lower Valley, photo courtesy of GravityShots.com. The Diamond B Wedding venue operates within the conservation easement.
Encouragement for the Work of Others
As facilitators and partners with landowners and other groups, we contribute expertise, technical assistance and support on behalf of projects that further our mission.
Flathead Land Trust takes great pride in collaborating with many partners on conservation efforts, such as the Bad Rock Canyon project. Working together with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Flathead Lakers and River to Lake Initiative partners, this 772-acre parcel of critical habitat was kept intact and a new public Wildlife Management Area was created in 2021.
The Power of Education
Through our education activities, we foster awareness of our shared “Montana Heritage,” as well as our joint obligation to make sound decisions today to protect open spaces and unimpaired watersheds.
Flathead Land Trust’s Laura Katzman leads middle school students through Owen Sowerwine as part of the Bird Education Program co-facilitated with Flathead Audubon Society.
