Falls Creek PROJECT BRIEF

Public recreation access and one of the Lower 48’s smallest recovering grizzly bear populations have the chance to benefit greatly from Vital Ground’s latest collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service in northwestern Montana. The Falls Creek project aims to secure federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) support to protect 160 key acres in the Cabinet Mountains near Troy, Mont.

With Vital Ground serving as a land trust partner, the project would add the undeveloped acreage to surrounding Kootenai National Forest lands. With a history as private timberlands, the property is now owned by conservation-minded individuals looking to transfer ownership but keep the land as open space with public access. The project’s landscape includes a hiking trail to one of the area’s largest waterfalls, a popular recreation site, as well as the larger Cabinet Mountains Wilderness Area. Access to these destinations could be permanently protected with the acreage under public management. Read more…