Land Trust preserves Bonner Ridge
Laura Lundquist
(Missoula Current) The ridge that overlooks Bonner and the confluence of the Blackfoot and Clark Fork rivers will never be blemished by buildings and byways, thanks to the quick work of local organizations.
Last week, the Five Valleys Land Trust announced that the “Bonner Ridge” property, a 242-acre parcel at the top of “B Hill” south of Bonner, is now officially community open space that will allow both human and wildlife access to other public land into the future. But it could easily have been lost.
The parcel came on the market last year and, as is the case for so much newly available land, was slated for subdivision. Roads could have eventually scarred the hillside and 100 to 200 houses could have covered the slopes, adding to the potential for more human-caused wildfire in the Garnet Mountains.
Learning of the opening, the people at Five Valleys Land Trust worked with Missoula County and Yellowstone to Yukon to raise the money - around $1.3 million - needed to buy the land. Yellowstone to Yukon anted up $1 million, and on June 30, Missoula County approved $250,000 from the 2018 Open Space Bond to cover the remainder. Five Valleys Land Trust was able to close the deal in mid-August.
“This project is a conservation win from so many angles,” said Whitney Schwab, Five
Valleys Land Trust executive director. “It protects important wildlife habitat and connectivity, provides public access, and allows us to steward forest health to help reduce the risk of wildfire close to Bonner. Wildfire season is lasting longer and
longer. By reducing development in the wildland-urban interface and supporting good forest management we can better support our community’s firefighting efforts and resources.”
The Bonner Ridge property supports several wildlife species that use the ridge to access the rivers, including elk, deer, and the bighorn sheep that are regularly seen along U.S. Highway 200. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ Region 2 supervisor, Kendra McCloskey, noted in the agency’s letter supporting the project that the habitat on the ridge is fairly unique.
“Three mountain ranges, two large rivers, multiple side streams and draws, and a wide diversity of ridgelines converge to form a topographic bowl that has created an array of wildlife habitats and a natural funnel for wildlife movement,” McCloskey wrote in the letter.
Had the ridge been developed, it would have created a barrier for wildlife in an area that has otherwise been preserved through a number of land deals. The Nature Conservancy, as Montana Checkerboard LLC, owns and allows public access to thousands of acres just east of the Bonner Ridge as part of the 2007 Montana Legacy Project.
Then, in December 2021, Bonner Property Development bought the lower 104 acres of the B Hill from the Nature Conservancy and gave the conservation easement to Five Valleys Land Trust. Now, these large connected chunks of land will remain undeveloped, providing wildlife passage from the Garnet Mountains to the restored areas of the Clark Fork River.
“The Missoula-Bonner corridor is critical for wildlife movement and safety on a continental scale. Protection of this property helps wildlife move under Interstate 90 and the rail line without getting hit, and in turn, it helps drivers and conductors pass safely,” said Jordan Reeves, Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative connectivity director. “Y2Y is happy to play a small part in the ongoing story of conservation here at the confluence, from the reclamation of the Milltown Dam in the early 90s to the great work happening here with partners, landowners, Missoula County, and Five Valleys Land Trust.”
Kit Fischer, Five Valleys Conservation Project manager, said his organization will develop a management plan to balance recreation opportunities with the wildlife values on the property. Until that plan is finalized, the property will remain closed to
the public.
Contact reporter Laura Lundquist at lundquist@missoulacurrent.com.