CONSERVATION STRATEGIES

Coordinating land conservation and stewardship to keep working landscapes intact.

CONSERVATION STRATEGIES

There are a variety of public agencies, land trusts, nonprofit organizations, and private landowners working on conservation in the Blackfoot watershed. The Conservation Strategies Committee provides a forum for these individuals to exchange information, prioritize projects, pool resources, and leverage efforts. When Plum Creek Timber Company began selling land in the early 2000s, this committee began facilitating the community-driven process to convey those lands – nearly 300,000 acres – into new ownerships that would permanently protect natural resources, local livelihoods, and community values.

Header photo: Sara Schmidt; Inset photo: Camille Coughlin

ANNUAL MEETINGS & MAPS

The Conservation Strategies Committee provides a forum for the Blackfoot’s many conservation practitioners to identify, prioritize, and leverage conservation opportunities across the watershed.

CORPORATE TIMBERLAND IN TRANSITION

Plum Creek Timber Company was once the largest private landowner in the Blackfoot watershed. Over the past 20 years, the Challenge has facilitated a process with The Nature Conservancy to purchase these lands.

CONSERVATION EASEMENTS

Conservation easements are a voluntary tool for private landowners to conserve the conservation values of their properties in perpetuity, and they have a long history of use in the Blackfoot watershed. 

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WATERSHED LANDOWNERSHIP MAP PRODUCED

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PRIVATE AND PUBLIC PARTNERS PARTICIPATING

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284,911

ACRES OF FORMER INDUSTRIAL TIMBER LAND CONSERVED

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GUIDE TO CONSERVATION EASEMENTS PRODUCED