Missoula ranch gets preservation funding approval from city, county
A ranch in the foothills of the Rattlesnake Mountains will be preserved from development after both Missoula city and county government approved spending $688,000 to place the land in a conservation easement.
The project combined funding from both governments and Five Valley's Land Trust to preserve the Indreland Ranch, an active agricultural business that stretches more than 1,600 acres through range land and forest.
The city and county split the price tag, each agreeing to spend $344,000. Five Valleys and other private donors provided more than $1.7 million, bringing the project to roughly $2.3 million.
The city approved its portion 7-2, while the county approved its portion unanimously during a special joint meeting Wednesday morning.
"It checks every box, and I enthusiastically support it," Commissioner Josh Slotnick said at the meeting.
The property sits north of the Wye and east of Highway 93. Most of the land surrounding the ranch is either owned by the Forest Service or is already part of a conservation easement.
The $1.7 million in private funding comes from grants and in-kind donations to Five Valleys Land Trust, the nonprofit that would manage the conservation easement.
The land will continue to be owned by Rory Indreland and remain private property. It will be permanently preserved for perpetuity, and roughly 1% will be set aside for future homes for the family ranch.
"Because this is a multigenerational family ag operation, the family is requesting a few additional building sites to allow present and future generations to live on-site here," Five Valley Land Trust project Manager Derek Goble said.
While a majority of city councilors supported the project, some brought concerns on how remote the property is, how the site would not be public and the limited open space dollars the city has left.
"There is just a finite amount of that (open space) money available, it's going to shrink," Ward 5 City Councilor Bob Campbell said.
Covington said remaining funds of the city's $7 million dollars from the 2018 bond stand at about $2.5 million after the Indreland purchase and approval of other projects in the works, like a new Northside park .
Other city and county officials said the private land would still benefit the public, as the conservation permit would preserve views of the Rattlesnake Mountains, improve wildlife corridors and limit urban sprawl.
"Its a unique property and I do believe this is an excellent example of public benefit by protecting wildlife," Commissioner Juanita Vero said.
The ranch sits in the middle of a wildlife corridor for endangered species like grizzly bears and Canada lynx.
Eric Greenwell, with the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, said preserving the land will help maintain biodiversity between larger wilderness areas. The nonprofit provided $300,000 for the easement.
The city is reviewing a new land use policy and code reform to plan for growth through 2045, and several councilors said the city should now look into prioritizing the remaining 2018 open bond money.
"We are going to have to build more densely, so we will have to have a conversation on how we are spending our open space money," Ward 3 Councilor Gwen Jones said.
City council will not meet on Monday in observance of Veterans Day.
Griffen Smith is the local government reporter for the Missoulian.
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