8:30am to 4pm - Individual & Family Registration 

8:30am to 3pm - Golden Ski Team Registration

10 to 11:30am - Kids Carnival lead by BSF

10 to 11am - Beginning Classic Clinic lead by BSF and Beginning Skate Clinic lead by BSF

11am to noon - Intermediate skate skiing clinic lead by Shayla Swanson (Sauce Headwear)

Noon - Lunch

1 to 2pm - Intro to Eagle Mount state of the art adaptive equipment

3:30 to 5pm - Party and Raffle 

3:30pm - Golden Ski Team winners announced 

4pm - Raffle winners announced

Triple Tree Trail

GVLT helped build the Triple Tree Trail south of Bozeman in the 1990s. Now, the trail is in need of serious repair. In partnership with the Triple Tree Homeowner's Association, Gallatin County, and the State of Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), GVLT is working to reroute and stabilize segments of the trail that have been damaged by erosion and are unsustainable. We are applying for a permanent trail easement with DNRC and working through public-private partnerships to complete the trail construction. We were honored to be commended by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle Editorial Board for taking the lead on this project, and to have received a grant from the Montana Recreational Trails Program to do much of the trail construction. We have already raised over $17,000 in private donations to complete the work, but we still need around $15,000 for the project. If you are interested in supporting a new and improved Triple Tree Trail, please visit www.gvlt.org and click on "Ways to Give". 

Grant Awarded

We are delighted to announce that GVLT's stewardship program was awarded a grant from the Yellowstone Club Community Foundation to help GVLT staff provide customized stewardship resources to the 87 families partnered with us on conservation easement projects. Last year, the Yellowstone Club Community Foundation helped GVLT and Whitney Tilt produce the field guide, The Flora of Montana's Gallatin Region: Greater Yellowstone's Northwest Corner, available for sale at GVLT and many local retailers with all proceeds benefiting GVLT's land conservation and community trail programs.

Each month we spotlight a partnering business so our readers can learn how different businesses help us achieve our goals.    

At the core of GVLT's mission is working in partnership with willing landowners, civic organizations, government agencies, and local businesses. This month, we want to highlight our partner, REI. In 2010 and 2011, GVLT was the proud recipient of grants from REI that helped us to complete improvements at the Sourdough Canyon Trailhead and partner with the Bozeman Boulders Initiative to complete the fifth climbing boulder on the Main Street to the Mountains trail system and to improve the Westside Trail. REI has also been an important partner at our National Trails Day events.

About their partnership with GVLT, Bozeman REI's Teresa Larson says it is a natural fit, as stewardship is core to REI's mission to "inspire, educate and outfit for a lifetime of outdoor adventure and stewardship".  Larson says, "Given the nature of our mission, it's easy to understand why GVLT was chosen as one of our primary nonprofit partners. Both organizations are committed to connecting people to the outdoors and protecting the natural places we love. Both work to ensure that the next generation has a connection to the natural spaces we all enjoy, and that these lands and the recreational opportunities they offer are protected and enhanced. The goals are simple: to invite and engage more people to enjoy the outdoors and the benefits of a healthy, active outdoor lifestyle and to nurture a new generation of outdoor stewards. With our eye to the future, we look forward to supporting GVLT projects that get people outdoors on our trails and public lands and encourage active stewardship."

Nothing says you love someone like a gift that transcends generations. Make a donation to GVLT in any amount in honor of your valentine this year, and give them a legacy of open space, more than 60 miles of trails in the Main Street to the Mountains trail system, and the knowledge that together you are making a difference in our community. 

Please visit our website www.gvlt.org or call the office for more details.

Katy, along with her husband, is the co-founder of Willow Spring Ranch Montana, a certified organic, predator friendly ranch. They raise organic, grass fed lamb, and are devoted to managing their land sustainably as well as ensuring their lambs have low stress, high quality lives. They practice non-lethal predator control and seek to maintain a balance between the agricultural and wildlife areas of their ranch. Their concerns about dwindling natural resources, how food affects our health, and a desire to treat the animals we all eat with respect, prompted them to leave Chicago in 2008 and relocate to Bozeman to start their business. The Harjes' own and operate their business on permanently conserved land that the original owners placed in a conservation easement with GVLT.

Katy grew up in the Finger Lakes region of Central New York, where she spent her summer days living in her bathing suit, swimming, sailing, and exploring the woods and shale gullies of Keuka Lake.  Winters were completely devoted to skiing. This love of the outdoors stayed with her thru her 'urban phase' living in New York, where she earned her MA in Mass Media & Photography from the New School for Social Research and worked as a photo editor for Condé Nastand American Express Publishing. After leaving New York, her relationship with land conservation began when she and her husband worked with the Rural Land Foundation of Lincoln Massachusetts to place part of an old dairy farm they purchased into conservation. Later, while living in Mill Valley, California, she was an admirer and supporter of the Marin Agricultural Land Trust. When she is not spending time with the sheep, her horse, tending to the chickens, ranch cats or dogs, Katy enjoys white water kayaking, skiing, cooking and quietly taking in the beauty of the Gallatin Valley.

We are very fortunate to have Katy's energy, dedication, ideas, commitment and passion!

If you love the Main Street to the Mountains trails and art, the Bozeman Sculpture Park at the library is a must visit. Enjoy strolling while taking in the works of 9 talented artists. For more information about the park and upcoming lectures, including Brian Scott on February 15th, visit www.bozemansculpturepark.org.

Volunteers Needed for K9 Run - To Benefit GVLT

Volunteers are needed for Bozeman's 1st K9 9K running & walking event - yep with your DOGS! Saturday, May 19, 2012 from 9am - 3pm with a HUGE dog festival in Bogert Park after the event. It's 5.5 miles through subdivision streets and the best of Bozeman's trails. Event benefits: GVLT, Heart of the Valley, and Morris Animal Foundation's Canine Cancer Campaign. To learn more about the event, click here. 

TO volunteer please contact Karin Caroline at boone.kc@hotmail.com and let her know you are with GVLT!!! GVLT needs to provide 20 volunteers - thank you for the help and support!