Photo credit for image of Birdseye ranch, above in header and below in body: Courtesy PPLT; photo by Kevin League
Mission & Key Programs
For 30 years, Prickly Pear Land Trust (PPLT) has connected land and people because what’s good for nature is good for all of us. PPLT is committed to inspiring connections to the landscapes, water, wildlife, recreation, and agricultural heritage of west-central Montana through conservation, now and for future generations. To fulfill this mission of connecting land and people, we focus on three areas:
Trails and Parks
Unlike most land trusts, PPLT is rooted in trails. In 1995, neighbors gathered in a Helena, Montana living room to talk about protecting the forest and trails behind the state’s Capitol from subdivision. Bit by bit, they protected Mt. Ascension and Mt. Helena and built the South Hills trail system. This 80-mile trail system gives residents and visitors alike unparalleled singletrack access to public lands.
Land and Stewardship
As Montanans, we’re proud of our rich agricultural heritage. Landowners need tools to pass on working lands and open space to future generations. Land protection agreements help landowners protect what they treasure about their property. They permanently protect the conservation values of the land, allowing landowners to carry on traditional land uses or pass it on to their heirs.
Land trusts promote land conservation that benefits communities by protecting the incredible outdoor heritage, recreation, wildlife, and agricultural legacy that defines Montana. These agreements between the land trust and landowners transfer to all future landowners, meaning the land will remain open for generations to come. Since 1998, we’ve protected more than 26,000 acres of private lands.
Education and Outreach
Outdoor education is core to achieving our vision of a healthy future for all Montanans. That’s why we’re dedicated to making land, water, and wildlife accessible to everyone in our community. It’s the right thing to do. Our staff and volunteers have built a robust year-round education program. Field experiences are at the core of this program. Students of all ages visit our outdoor classrooms at Sevenmile Creek, The Grove, and Prickly Pear Park to learn about ecology, biology, and natural history.
Service Area
Prickly Pear Land Trust operates within a four-county service area in Montana – Lewis and Clark, Jefferson, Broadwater, and Powell counties – and nearby lands.
unique in the central rocky Mountains
The demand for our work has never been greater. Here are some reasons why it’s now or never for conservation in Montana.
Population Growth
Our region in Montana is one of the fastest-growing areas in the country. The influx of new residents is good for local economies, but growth places pressure on agriculture, rivers, wildlife, and trails. PPLT is focused on protecting those values and our quality of life.
Working Agriculture
Farms and ranches define Montana’s heritage, but skyrocketing land values combined with drought, wildfires, and rising costs can squeeze family operations. Land trusts provide critical tools to family operations to help them stay in business and pass their land on to the next generation.
Severe Weather
Increased temperatures, prolonged drought, reduced snowpack, intense wildfires, and flooding change landscapes, wildlife habitat, and communities. We are expanding our stewardship efforts and working with partners to grow local resiliency and sustainability.
Loved to Death
Our booming outdoor recreation and tourism industry supports Montana’s economy and creates jobs. However, its popularity has also strained limited land management and recreation resources and impacted wildlife. We will continue to work with public managers to promote Happy Trails for all.
project highlight
Birdseye Ranch is one of the last large tracts of native grasslands in the Helena Valley. The 1,472-acre property neighbors thousands of acres of public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, and the state of Montana, plus protected lands owned by Prickly Pear Land Trust, like Tenmile Creek Park. The native grasslands provide critical habitat for birds, pronghorn, deer, and the occasional elk and moose. A herd of pronghorn antelope fawn here in the spring. Black bears arrive in late summer to feast on ripe chokecherries. Elk move down Granite Creek and Cherry Creek in the winter. A variety of bird species, including curlews, have been spotted at Birdseye year-round.
Birdseye Ranch adjoins Fort Harrison, so it was an open space priority for the Army’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration program. REPI supports the Army’s mission to fight and win by protecting open space around military installations. The REPI program allows bases and other facilities to work with partners like PPLT to conserve land critical to the Army’s ability to train. Prickly Pear Land Trust acquired Birdseye Ranch with funding from the Army’s REPI program, the Lewis & Clark County Open Space Bond program, and the Montana Fish & Wildlife Conservation Trust. Birdseye Ranch is PPLT’s eighth REPI-funded project.
