Amid unprecedented development pressure, conservation easements have kept vast tracts of northwest Montana’s timbered landscape open to the public. But after the largest sale of the region’s timberland to a private buyer in recent history, the owners of Flathead Ridge Ranch have emerged as the unlikely gatekeepers to 126,000 forested acres of prime hunting habitat.
From a profile of an aerial stuntman to the consequences of a struggling timber industry to a Blackfeet member becoming a movie star, here are a few of our best stories from the last year
Support independent journalism.
If you enjoy stories like this one, please consider joining the Flathead Beacon Editor’s Club.
For as little as $5 per month, Editor’s Club members support independent local journalism and earn a pipeline to Beacon journalists.