Thank You for Helping to Conserve Owen Sowerwine!

Nearly fifty years ago, a man named Owen Sowerwine dreamed of safeguarding a 405-acre community treasure with exceptional, intact forested river bottom habitat near Kalispell. Finally, that vision has blossomed into reality.

After years of collaboration between Flathead Land Trust, Flathead Audubon Society, Flathead Lakers, Montana Audubon and Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, the Owen Sowerwine property is now permanently protected by a conservation easement held by Flathead Land Trust.

Owen Sowerwine is a 405-acre haven just to the east of Kalispell in one of the most complex sections of the Flathead River. It contains important habitat for birds, fish and wildlife and lies adjacent to other protected lands that together provide an interconnected network of open space and quality habitat at a landscape scale. It also helps safeguard water quality in the Stillwater and Flathead Rivers and Flathead Lake and provides public access for outdoor activities and conservation education opportunities for local schools.

Thanks to the many donors and grantors to Flathead Land Trust, Flathead Audubon and the Flathead Lakers, we raised the required funding to purchase a conservation easement on this wildlife haven and community treasure, while securing long-term funding for Montana’s K-12 schools.

In December of 2023, the Montana Land Board granted unanimous approval for a purchased conservation easement on the property, and a conservation easement was placed on the property on February 29, 2024.

WHY was the OWEN SOWERWINE PROPERTY in NEED of PROTECTION?
Owen Sowerwine is State School Trust land administered by the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC). As State School Trust land its purpose is to generate revenue for Montana K-12 public schools. Thus, its future as natural habitat with public access had not been secure. In order to generate revenue for schools, Owen Sowerwine could have been used for cabin sites, residential purposes, agriculture or grazing, timber sales or commercial uses. A purchased conservation easement ensures that the property’s vital habitat will remain intact for birds and wildlife while securing public access while also providing significant revenue for Montana schools.

CONSERVATION VALUES
Owen Sowerwine is in the heart of one of the most complex sections of the Flathead River, a braided area including islands, sloughs, wetlands, and riparian forest. The project protects 405 acres of this ecologically diverse habitat. This bird and wildlife haven borders a river ecosystem that is dynamic with a braided pattern of waterways including a mile of the Stillwater River, over a mile of the Flathead River, and at least 1.3 miles of intertwined channels connecting the two rivers. It is used by federally listed grizzly bear and bull trout as well as black bear, fox, coyote, mountain lion, white-tailed deer, westslope cutthroat trout, and 156 bird species. It has been designated an Important Bird Area critical to the conservation of birds by Montana Audubon. Together with adjacent protected land it helps provide an interconnected network of over 13,000 acres of conserved land along 50 miles of the Flathead River and north shore of Flathead Lake. In addition, it provides public access for outdoor activities such as walking on trails, birdwatching, hunting, and fishing, and conservation education opportunities for local schools.

PROJECT HISTORY
Local citizens attempted to get Owen Sowerwine designated as a Natural Area under the Natural Areas Act of 1974. This effort was led by an avid outdoorsman, dedicated conservationist, and community leader, for whom the area is named. Although it was never officially designated as a Natural Area, Owen Sowerwine had been managed as a natural area through lease and license agreements with Flathead County, Montana Audubon and Flathead Audubon Society since the late 1970s. However, a long-term solution to ensure that the forested riparian habitat and wetlands of Owen Sowerwine remained intact for birds, wildlife and public access was sought for years.

This distinctive project presented a unique challenge: protecting the property while generating income for Montana’s schools, as mandated for State School Trust Land. A solution was found in a rare purchased conservation easement on State School Trust Land – only made possible by the foresight of Montana lawmakers nearly twenty-five years ago, when they enacted a statute allowing a conservation easement to be placed on this specific parcel of land by a nonprofit.

COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Flathead Land Trust, Flathead Audubon Society, the Flathead Lakers and other River to Lake Initiative partners worked together with neighbors, community schools and other organizations to protect Owen Sowerwine’s natural integrity and current public uses in perpetuity. Partners raised the $970,000 needed to purchase a conservation easement to protect the property in perpetuity while providing significant revenue for Montana schools.

Owen Sowerwine has long been recognized for its natural and community values. For the past 40 years, leases and licenses held by Flathead County, Montana Audubon and the Flathead Audubon Society allowed the area to be managed for its natural habitat. Fees associated with these leases and licenses were paid to compensate the State School Trust. The purchased conservation easement replaces the current license and ensures that Owen Sowerwine will be managed for its natural habitat in perpetuity. It will also generate predictable, annual revenue to benefit K-12 education through an investment of the initial lump sum received for the purchased conservation easement in the permanent trust fund.

A very heart-felt THANK YOU to all the donors and supporters for the critical support for this project!