A critical 140-acre parcel on the flank of Big Mountain is now permanently protected due to a dedicated collaboration between Flathead Land Trust, the Heart of the Rockies Initiative and local landowners.  

Last week, Flathead Land Trust placed a conservation easement on this vital wildlife passageway, also helping to maintain the pristine water quality of Whitefish Lake and secure the future of the area’s beloved scenic views.  

"This important Flathead Land Trust project ensures that one of the last undeveloped forested wildlife habitats on Big Mountain, strategically located between the Haskill Basin and the Lazy Creek conserved areas, will remain intact,” said Jim Williams, partnership manager with the Heart of the Rockies Initiative. 

Local landowners, who wished to remain anonymous, have been dedicated stewards for years.  

“The family has worked tirelessly for decades to employ forest management practices to ensure that wildlife habitat and a partial watershed for Whitefish Lake was protected,” Williams said. 

Now, through Flathead Land Trust, the family has ensured that the land will be preserved for perpetuity. 

The easement on Big Mountain serves as both a seasonal and a year-round home to mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, black and grizzly bear, mountain lion and a host of other species.  

This area, like the Trumbull Creek and Haskill Basin conservation easements, is a safe harbor, serving as a connection for wildlife who traverse the slopes of the Whitefish Mountain Range, between Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness and the Salish and Selkirk Mountains.  

With its mature Douglas fir and western redcedar forests, the property provides foraging opportunities and refuge for mammal and bird populations.  

Upland forests, spring creeks, seeps, wetlands and seasonally wet areas harbor a diversity of plants and provide excellent habitat for nearly 100 bird species.  

Protecting this area’s hydrology, which includes at least seven springs and abundant seeps and subsurface water flow, is important for reducing the amount of erosion and sediments going into Whitefish Lake. By reducing disruption, the conservation easement thereby preserves the ecological integrity and water quality of Whitefish Lake.  

This conservation easement also preserves stunning scenic views of the forested hillside for the public traveling on Big Mountain Road, and safeguards nearby public land enjoyed by recreationists. 

“It’s been exciting to work with the landowners to conserve their large, intact parcel that is so important to wildlife on Big Mountain and water quality for the Whitefish Lake watershed,” said Ryan Hunter, land protection specialist for Flathead Land Trust. “This area is facing tremendous development pressure, so conserving this core property is a real win.”  

The project was made possible by The Heart of the Rockies Initiative’s "Keep it Connected" Program, which supplied essential funding through a grant from the Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg Foundation, furthering the mission to conserve habitat critical to wildlife.