photo credit: Yellowstone Ranch Preserve
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GVLT conserves southwest Montana's heritage of open landscapes, working farms and ranches, healthy rivers, and wildlife habitat; and creates trails to connect people, communities and the land. |
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| monthly news | SEPTEMBER / 2010 | |
EVENTS - ON DECK
| | Trail Mix
Thursday September 23
Trail Mix is a fundraiser for GVLT's community trails program. Join us for an evening of fall fare, spirits and good friends. The 16th annual event will be held on Thursday September 23 from 6:30 to 9pm with a suggested donation of $50 per person. If you are interested in attending please RSVP by emailing annetyler@gvlt.org 20th Anniversary Celebration
Wednesday, October 20 @ The BaxterYou are invited to join the board and staff of the Gallatin Valley Land Trust at our 20th Anniversary Celebration! GVLT is excited to celebrate 20 years of private land conservation and community trails. Join us from 6 to 9pm on October 20th for music, local food, drinks, and stories from our 20 year history in the Gallatin Valley. Details will follow or contact GVLT for more information. Make Tracks for Trails
Saturday, February 26th 2011 @ Bohart RanchSave the date for our annual Make Tracks for Trails! Pledge forms will be available in January.
If you are interested at volunteering at any of these events please contact Anne Tyler at 406.587.8404 or annetyler@gvlt.org. |
SUMMER EVENTS - THANK YOU!
| | Thanks to the nearly 80 volunteers who helped us improve and expand the Main Street to the Mountains trail system this year on National Trails Day!
Trail Visionary / Event Sponsors
Locati Architects, KMMS-FM 95.1 The Moose, Pub 317, Insty Prints, Quantel
Click to learn more about each sponsor.
Trail Boss
Crowley Fleck Law Firm, Family Practice Associates PC, Junkermier Clark Campanella Stevens PC, Stockman Bank, Rocky Mountain Surgical Center, TD&H Engineers
Rake and Shovel Crew
360 Pet Medical, Bridger Orthopedic, Community Food Co-op, CTA Architects Engineers, Colombo's Pizza, Mergenthaler Transfer & Storage, Northern Lights Trading Company, Sage Spa, Schlauch-Bottcher Construction, Security Title Company, Spire Climbing Center, Yellowstone Traditions
4TH ANNUAL LONGEST DAY OF TRAILS
Event Partners
Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club, KMMS-FM 95.1 The Moose, Insty Prints, Intrinsik Architecture, Massive Studios, Montana Ale Works, Strong Frames
Click to learn more about each sponsor.
Bike Sponsors
Bozeman Brewing Company, Free Air Bicycles, Montana Reclaimed Lumber, Cochran Family
Mile of Trail Sponsors
Archer Construction, Bangtail, Bar 3 Barbeque, Barrel Mountaineering, Beartooth Publishing, Bohart Ranch, Cateye Café, CWJ & Associates, Davidson Builders Inc., Derik Olsen Photography, Gallatin Alpine Sports, Girls Outdoors, Leaf and Bean, Madison River Brewing, Mackenzie River Pizza, Montana Import Group, Montana Fish Company, Naked Noodle, Nishkian-Monks, Oboz, Pacific Outdoor Equipment, Poindexters, Rockford Coffee, Rosauers, REI, Sage Salon Spa, Schnee's Boots and Shoes, Simkins-Hallin Lumber, Summit Bike & Ski, Spire, Team Luna Chix Montana, Twenty6 Products, West Paw, Word of Mouth Concepts |
| TRAILS |
Parking Expansion & Toilet for Sourdough CanyonSki season is coming soon and we're excited to announce that the first phase of improvements to the Sourdough Canyon Trailhead is scheduled to be completed by the end of October. Thanks to REI, DA Davidson, grant funding from the Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks Recreational Trails Program, and many other generous donors we are planning to install a permanent vault toilet and as many as 20 new parking spots. At the same time, we are working on final permitting for much more extensive improvements and expansion of both the parking lot and access road. The timing of these improvements will be funding dependent. For more information, visit the Sourdough Canyon page on the GVLT website. Did you get to "work out" with GVLT? Hundreds of volunteers "worked out" with the GVLT this summer on projects ranging from improving muddy trails at Triple Tree, to knocking back noxious knapweed at Burke Park and Drinking Horse Mountain. Students, parents, travelers and businesses all came together this summer to donate over 800 hours of their time to caring for Bozeman's local trails. Thanks to all our trail volunteers and Adopt-a-Trail groups, with special thanks to Fordham University for donating time and money, and Joseph Vaughn for making GVLT a big part of his summer fun and for recruiting the Belgrade High Cross-country team members for projects. Also, thanks to Dan Himsworth of Insty Prints for letting us dump small mountains of gravel next to his house at Triple Tree. More Trailhead ImprovementsThanks to grant funding from the Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks Recreational Trails Program, this summer we completed much needed parking lot resurfacing at the Painted Hills trailhead off Kagy, and the parking area at the end of Sundance Drive serving the Sundance Springs trails. County Parks & Trails PlanGallatin County is in the final stages of completing a new Parks and Trails Plan. GVLT submitted extensive comments last month and a final vote by the County Commission is currently scheduled for October 19th. The draft plan and additional information can be viewed on the County website. |
LANDS
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In our 20-year history, GVLT has partnered with 85 private landowners to permanently conserve more than 36,000 acres of land around the Gallatin Valley. And we're constantly working to conserve new lands too. But our work doesn't end there. We visit each of these properties every year to work with landowners and ensure that their land remains as valuable habitat, open space and productive farmland. It's takes a lot of time and effort but the rewards are evident with each visit.
This season Amy Robinson, Stewardship Fellow and Kate Wright, Stewardship Coordinator have spent over 500 hours visiting with landowners on our easement properties, as well as touring beautiful corners of southwest Montana. We have seen and heard stories of wildlife sightings and habitat enhancement efforts that reiterate the importance of private lands and conservation easements for wildlife. This year, we've observed two blue heron rookeries, heard about increased elk numbers from landowners, and listened to stories of sightings of bears and mountain lions. The Gallatin Valley and surrounding communities are truly special places!
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WAYS TO GIVE
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To help celebrate our GVLT's 20th Anniversary in 2010, we have launched a new Anniversary Fund campaign to help continue our legacy of community trails and private land conservation. The Fund will help ensure that we have an operating reserve and will help make our next 20 years as successful as our first. We have already raised over $70,000 toward the fund. In our first 20 years, GVLT: ˇ protected over $25 of land value for every $1 invested to permanently protect more then 36,000 acresˇ completed over $1 million in trail projects, helping expand Main Street to the Mountains trail system to over 60 milesˇ became one of the first accredited land trusts in the nationImagine what we can do in our next 20 years with your help! Please consider making a special gift to our Anniversary Fund today. |
20 YEARS - GVLT
| Throughout our 20th Anniversary year GVLT eNews will include highlights from our History.
GVLT Among First Land Trust to Become Accredited - September 2008After months of preparing our application, hundreds of pounds of documentation, and 18 years of excellent service and sound practices, the Gallatin Valley Land Trust became one of the first land trusts in the nation to receive accredited status in September 2008. GVLT's Executive Director, Stephen Johnson, and Land Protection Specialist, Kelly Pohl accepted the award at the national Land Trust Rally in Pittsburgh, PA. Awarded by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, the accreditation seal recognizes organizations that meet national standards for excellence, uphold the public trust and ensure that conservation efforts are permanent. GVLT's accredited status demonstrates our commitment to permanent, principled land conservation in the Gallatin Valley and surrounding communities. |
| GVLT | |
Contact Informationphone: 406.587.8404 |
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