War Eagle Hill features pristine native grasslands, vibrant riparian habitat, and old-growth forest ecosystems. Protecting this landscape secures critical winter range and movement corridors for iconic Montana wildlife, including elk, moose, pronghorn, and bears.
The Peaks to Creeks Initiative brought PPLT’s work from the mountains into the Helena Valley, which was fertile ground for conservation. In 2016, PPLT partnered with the National Guard to purchase 205 acres of pasturelands adjacent to Fort Harrison and Tenmile Creek.
Prickly Pear Land Trust partners with the Helena-Lewis & Clark National Forest to organize and implement on-the-ground trail construction and trail maintenance activities throughout the South Hills trail system.
The Peaks to Creeks Initiative brought PPLT’s work from the mountains into the Helena Valley, which was fertile ground for conservation. In 2016, PPLT partnered with the National Guard to purchase 205 acres of pasturelands adjacent to Fort Harrison and Tenmile Creek.
Over the following weeks, I watched the ponds expand as water slowly flooded the surrounding land. Still, I had yet to find a lodge where beavers lived with their colony, a small family group made up of an adult pair and their young.
As anyone who enjoys a road trip through Montana will attest, undeveloped viewsheds can soothe the nervous system.
Few seasonal changes in Helena are as recognizable as the blooming of balsamroot in the South Hills. The dry brown hillsides of winter suddenly give way to waves of yellow, turning trails like Rocky Road and Ambrose, gold for a few short weeks each May and early June.
Thirty years after its founding, Prickly Pear Land Trust marks its 30th conservation easement with Elk Ridge, protecting vital wildlife habitat and open space in the South Hills.
Ranching asks for strength, but also demands patience. You know how much of this work is unseen, unrecorded, and done simply because it needed to be.
In the Helena Valley, spring often arrives along the water. Snowdrifts recede from shaded banks, creeks swell with runoff, and willows begin to leaf out. Against the sound of moving water are the high, clear notes of migratory songbirds moving through the trees.
