Rural lands are critical for conservation.  Areas like Montana’s Swan Valley provide core low elevation habitats for wildlife as well as connectivity between wilderness areas. Conserving these landscapes can be challenging because of the complex land ownership patterns and because this brand of conservation requires balancing human economic activity with environmental stewardship. At Northwest Connections we work to conserve biodiversity by 1) involving rural residents in monitoring and restoring threatened species, 2) coordinating land owners (public and private) to address habitat fragmentation, 3) integrating local knowledge and science to design conservation projects, and 4) educating young professionals about the need to involve rural communities in conservation.

Northwest Connections has been conducting community based monitoring projects on rare carnivores, bears and whitebark pine for over ten years.  Many of these projects have resulted in cooperative efforts to protect and restore threatened habitat connections.  We help design and monitor timber harvest projects on state and federal lands.  And we work continuously with private land owners to plan roads, developments and conservation easements that maximize the protection of key wildlife connections.

A large component of our time is spent working with diverse interests to address the steady divestment of Plum Creek lands in the Swan Valley.  We hope to prevent the wholesale conversion of those lands into real estate and keep the bulk of the Swan Valley in “working forest” status.