Leaving home reminded me how much I love the Treasure State, and how much hard work it takes to keep it special.
After growing up in Helena, I was eager for a new experience going to school in California. It’s been an amazing opportunity, but there’s nothing like living in a metropolis of 9 million to make you long for open space. I came home that first summer just as spring showers greened up Mt. Helena and the sunsets were getting long. The views, trails, dirt roads, and rivers I’d previously taken for granted were grander than I’d ever remembered.
I’d always been pretty interested in environmental stuff, and I had a “Happy Trails” sticker on my water bottle, so that was enough to make me call up Mary Hollow and ask if PPLT might need some summer help. Luckily for me, nonprofits always need a hand, so I got hired as an intern to assist with social media, fundraising, moving cows – all the usual intern stuff. I not only got to be part of PPLT’s mission, but I got to know its history and the true scope of its work.
I discovered that the trails I grew up hiking exist because smart, dedicated people figured out how to preserve Mt. Ascension in the early 2000s. The day float from Craig to Mid Canon, which I’ve probably done a hundred times, has breathtaking scenery because of a PPLT conservation easement. PPLT and partners restored parts of the riparian ecosystems I studied in high school science class. Local K-12 students are learning even more about conservation in their own backyards as PPLT works to expand its educational programming and its future. This organization connects land and people in so many ways. The patchwork of easements, parcels, trails, and parks in our region has preserved a great quality of life for us in the Helena area and beyond.
But now, our public lands and conserved spaces face pressures and threats like never before. On top of that, young people find it especially challenging to live and make a living in the beautiful places we grew up in, and nowhere in Montana is immune. My greatest hope is to preserve the opportunity for mine and future generations to continue enjoying our access and space as it is now – open, public, and cherished by many – and that support and care from the community stays robust. PPLT does a whole lot for us on both fronts; in return, it should be everybody’s business to keep local conservation strong.
