Open Space funding secures key wildlife corridor near Bonner
Martin Kidston
(Missoula Current) Citing its wildlife habitat and connectivity, Missoula County on Tuesday approved spending $250,000 from the 2018 Open Space Bond to help conserve 242 acres in Bonner.
The property, which sits east of Highway 200, provides a key wildlife corridor and is home to a range of large animal species, including bighorn sheep. The project, which totals around $1.3 million, received a $1 million donation in Yellowstone to Yukon partner funding.
“This lower Blackfoot (River) area is a key movement corridor for large animals moving across the larger landscape,” said Ben Horan, deputy director of the Five Valleys Land Trust. “North of the river, we see a lot of residential development and opportunities for animals to get into trouble, which is why the value in the southern side of the river is so high.”
The parcel was listed by a private owner for around $1.19 million. Five Valley's approached the owner in April to negotiate a purchase price of $1.04 million, not including closing costs.
Horan said the conservation values include scenic views of the Blackfoot and Clark Fork River confluence, critical linkage habitat and access to checkerboard lands to the east.
It also eliminates development potential in the wildland urban interface.
“This is the sale of a property that has multiple building sites, an existing well and otherwise interest from the seller in subdivision and development,” said Horan. “Once you get on top, the view of the Blackfoot and the recovered floodplain and non-recovered area is just stunning.”
The floodplain includes much of Milltown State Park and was created after the old Milltown Dam was removed. The park spans 635 acres while additional land near Bandmann Flats and the river is also publicly protected.
The area is connected to the new open space parcel by an I-90 underpass. It provides a key wildlife corridor, which helped it receive funding from the Yellowstone to Yukon partnership. That initiative aims to connect the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem to the Yokon Territory located 2,100 miles to the north.
“We strive to connect and protect enough space for a wide range of species – including grizzly bears, elk, wolves, caribou, wolverines and more – to roam, feed and reproduce,” the initiative says. “Our vision is an interconnected system of wild lands and waters stretching along the spine of the Rocky Mountains, harmonizing the needs of people with those of nature.”
The opportunity to make connectivity permanent in the area also won the support of the Open Lands Citizen Advisory Committee.
“Letters of support from Y2Y and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks speak to the critical wildlife corridor that the acquisition, and subsequent conservation, of this property would protect,” said committee chair Sarah Holden.