Page 10 - Flathead Beacon // 11.23.16

NEWS
Working to Conserve the West Valley Wetlands
Flathead Land Trust seeks donations to secure a conservation easement on 400 acres of land vital for many birds, especially sandhill cranes
BY MOLLY PRIDDY OF THE BEACON
The Flathead Land Trust is working on a new project, one that will cement the idea that the wetlands of West Valley are for the birds.
More speci cally, the new project seeks to conserve a 400-acre section of family farmland important for 144 spe- cies of bird, with special focus on the sandhill cranes.
According to FLT, more than 400 of these large, long-winged birds have been seen at one time using a four-square- mile staging area to rest and fuel up for the rest of their fall migration. The Flat- head serves as an important stop for the cranes as they migrate between breeding grounds in Canada and wintering areas in the southern U.S. and Mexico. The birds stand ve feet tall, with wingspans of six feet.
The farmland the FLT hopes to con- serve includes an “exceptional” 45-acre pothole wetland, which is ecologically important for the birds and the wildlife in West Valley.
Flathead Valley’s human residents and visitors would also get a chance to enjoy the area, since a bird-viewing area
Sandhill cranes. COURTESY STEVE MULLER
is also part of the plan. It would serve as
an educational site for local schools and the community.
If it’s put into a conservation ease- ment, the land would stay in private own- ership managed by the landowner, but would protect the property from becom- ing a residential subdivision or commer- cially developed in perpetuity. It would instead stay in agriculture with limited residential use.
Laura Katzman, land protection spe- cialist for FLT and the manager for this project, said the conservation easement has been in the works for several years.
“We’ve been working to reach out to people in the West Valley wetlands area for about three years,” Katzman said. “And we had been working to try to fund project for about a year. They take a long time to come to fruition.”
The estimated price tag to secure
this easement tops out around $1.4 mil- lion, but the landowners have agreed to donate more than a third of that by sell- ing the land for less. FLT already has more than $750,000 in federal grants for this project, but needs about $150,000 in non-federal matching funds to receive the grant money.
Already, $80,000 of the $150,000 has been raised, and now FLT is asking the community to help raise the remaining $70,000.
Paul Travis, executive director at FLT, said his organization wouldn’t release the name of the farm owners until the deal is nalized, out of respect for their privacy. But the goal is to have the money raised by spring 2017, he said.
Katzman said it’s relatively new for the organization to raise money through crowdfunding, but the community has already been responsive. Anyone who wants to follow the project’s progression is invited to like FLT’s Facebook page.
“We’re excited because it’s such a great project,” she said.
For more information on the project or to make a donation, visit www. athead- landtrust.org or call (406) 752-8393.
mpriddy@ atheadbeacon.com
Northwest Montana Historical Society Director Steps Down Gil Jordan said he planned for retirement but Trump’s election spurred it on faster
BY MOLLY PRIDDY OF THE BEACON
The executive director at the North- west Montana Historical Society has announced his retirement, a move he expected to make next year but hur- ried up after Donald Trump was elected president.
Deciding to retire from his post,
Gil Jordan, 71, said the Nov. 8 election spurred him on, due to the desire to vol- unteer and work at di erent organiza- tions, especially those focused on envi- ronmental issues.
“I was thinking about it hard all night; lying awake (election) night I was think- ing about it,” Jordan said. “I gave myself 48 hours to calm down and not make an
emotional decision.”
He talked about it with his wife of 40
years, Kimberly Pinter, who works with Jordan at the Museum at Central School as the o ce manager and volunteer coor- dinator for the historical society. They both decided to leave, Jordan said, and told the museum’s board on Thursday, Nov. 10.
Jordan’s retirement will take place March 31, giving the museum and his- torical society four-and-a-half months to nd his replacement. Pinter will likely retire sooner, he said.
Jordan said he and Pinter will stay in the valley, living in their Coram home of
35 years.
mpriddy@ atheadbeacon.com
LET’S
DEVELOP
As full-service developers, let Bridgewater guide your vision, investment or project to completion with professionalism and quality.
LEARN MORE HERE: BRIDGEWATERHUB.COM • TALK TO US HERE: 406.270.2121 • [email protected]
LET’S BUILD • LET’S CONNECT • LET’S SELL • LET’S BUY • LET’S DEVELOP • LET’S BUILD • LET’S CONNECT • LET’S SELL • LET’S BUY
SPRINGHILL SUITES | KALISPELL MT
DEVELOPED BY BRIDGEWATER • CIRCA 2016
•
LET’S
DEVELO
P
10
NOVEMBER 23, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM