In a significant win for conservation and local heritage, Paul and Sharon Guenzler have ensured the permanent protection of 290 acres of their rich farmland in the Mission Valley. The Guenzler family collaborated with Flathead Land Trust to place a conservation easement on their property, finalized today. This vital step safeguards not only the family’s deep agricultural roots and the land’s prime soils, but also crucial habitat for a diverse array of birds and wildlife on their property west of Ronan.

The Guenzler family’s agricultural legacy in the Mission Valley is vast, built upon over 100 years of farming in the area. The conserved land features fertile agricultural soils, classified as “prime farmland, if irrigated” and “farmland of local importance” by the Natural Resource Conservation Service, on nearly all of the property. For generations, the land has provided pasture and hay to sustain the family’s successful cattle operation. The family proudly continues the tradition of ranching on horseback, partnering with their high-quality AQHA horses raised on the Guenzler’s extended ranch.
Protection of the Guenzler property strengthens a growing conservation network of farmland in the area. It is directly adjacent to a 160-acre conservation easement containing Sloan Lake and is in the neighborhood of an additional 500 acres under conservation easements.
Encompassing a half-mile of West Miller Coulee and plentiful wetlands, the conservation easement also protects important habitat for wildlife and birds, such as snipe and sora. Along the coulee’s slopes and edges, a majestic native bunchgrass, Great Basin wild rye grows to impressive heights of over five feet. This native bunchgrass is rare in the lowlands of the Mission Valley and is now safeguarded under this land protection agreement.
The Guenzler property provides critical winter habitat for birds of prey, as the Mission Valley has some of the highest concentrations of wintering birds of prey in the United States. Bald eagle, rough-legged hawk, red-tailed hawk, and northern harrier regularly utilize the property, with occasional visits from golden eagle in winter.

Paul Guenzler is deeply committed to the vitality of agriculture in the Mission Valley. His dedication is evident through his extensive involvement with the Western Montana Stockman’s Association, where he served as a Board Member, Vice President, and President. Recognizing the importance of fostering the next generation, Paul also spearheaded the creation of a scholarship program supporting local 4H and FFA students pursuing careers in agriculture and the cattle industry. Furthermore, he has demonstrated his leadership as Chairman of the Flathead Irrigation District for the past 12 years and continues to support local youth as a Board member of the Mission Valley FFA Alumni. It is therefore a natural extension of his family’s long agricultural history that a portion of their rich farmland will now be permanently available for farming.
This project would not have been possible without federal funding from the Natural Resource Conservation Service Agricultural Land Easement program. This approach aims to protect the nation’s food supply by preventing the conversion of productive agricultural land to non-agricultural uses, thereby keeping rich farmland in agriculture through conservation easements. Through this program a landowner can receive cash for placing a conservation easement on their land, for keeping it available for agriculture, by preventing future subdivision and limiting future residential and commercial development of the property.










