Several private land owners in the Swan Valley have commissioned Northwest Connections to provide baseline data on historic and current wildlife use on their property.  Northwest Connections is unique in this field as we integrate both scientific assessment and local knowledge in providing insight to land owners on the condition of their land as wildlife habitat.

The Condon Creek Property

In 2007, Swan Valley residents George and Emily Beck put their 157.5-acre property located on the lower reaches of Condon Creek  (T21N, R17W, Section 11) into a conservation easement.  Vital Ground, a land trust dedicated to conserving wildlife habitat with particular focus on the protection and recovery of the grizzly bear worked closely with the Becks and now monitor the easement.

Northwest Connections played an important role in the process by providing a conservation baseline report of the Condon Creek Property. This report was the culmination of field and archival work that included a vegetation and wildlife survey, photo point documentation, and GIS mapping of the property. Various maps and data were produced that show the locations and acreages of the riparian areas, hay meadows, building envelopes, historic sites, knapweed research site, bear rub tree site, roads, and property boundaries.  This baseline report was a critical component of the final legal document for this conservation easment.