FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

July 14, 2022

MCV Celebrates Establishment of Lost Trail Conservation Area 

 New collaborative conservation area in Northwest Montana protects public lands and access while maintaining sustainable timber practices 

(HELENA, Mont.) – Today Montana Conservation Voters released the following statement from Executive Director Whitney Tawney in response to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announcement of the Lost Trail National Conservation Area to help achieve goals of the America the Beautiful initiative:

“The Lost Trail National Conservation Area is the kind of Montana-made collaborative conservation work the Big Sky State is known for and needs more of! We thank the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for working with the Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribes, landowners, the Trust for Public Land, Southern Pine Plantations and the State of Montana to get this project done. This kind of on-the-ground conservation takes hard work and we hope Governor Gianforte recognizes how such conservation efforts are good for all of Montana, our economy and the goal to protect 30 percent of our land and water by 2030.”

In 2021, the USFWS released its final environmental assessment of the area and concluded there was “no significant impact and land protection plan to establish a new unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System.” The designation includes more than 38,000 acres to protect public access, critical wildlife migration habitat and allows for sustainable timber harvest practices in Flathead and Lincoln counties.

Governor Greg Gianforte announced in March of this year that Montana will not participate in President Joe Biden’s “30×30” initiative to conserve 30 percent of land and water by 2030.

A recent poll found 71 percent of Montanans support the 30×30 initiative and that 87 percent of Montanans say issues involving clean water, wildlife and public lands are important in deciding whether to support an elected public official.