The Montana Land Reliance (MLR) has long recognized the importance of Swan Valley, which is known for its unique ecological significance.  Since 1993, MLR has completed 49 conservation easements, encompassing over 8,250 acres. In 2024, Jeff and Carol Stowell donated a conservation easement on a 158-acre property located in the Swan Valley, in Missoula County near Condon, Montana.

Other than the selective logging that occurred sometime before 2003 and again in 2014, the property has been used for recreation and personal enjoyment.  In 2023, it was purchased by the Stowell Family, who because of their desire to further conserve their land, worked with MLR to establish a conservation easement.  MLR and several other partners, including Atira Conservation, provided financial support to establish the conservation easement.  The property is adjacent to MLR’s Haasch conservation easement and is in an important focus area containing several other properties conserved by MLR. 

Situated in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, the property contains a managed stand of a diverse conifer forest.  It is bisected by a complex riparian wetland with more than a mile of streambank on Glacier Creek, the largest tributary of the Swan River. Perhaps the most unique aspect of the property is the stream system associated with the braided channels of Glacier Creek. 

This system of current and historic riverbeds spreads laterally, encompassing 45% of the property, and contains a rich and diverse riparian forest and riparian shrub component. The combination of riparian habitat, diverse timberlands, and the Swan Valley’s critical connectivity between the Swan and Mission Mountain ranges creates a complex ecosystem with high biodiversity.

In addition to containing elk calving habitat and a historic beaver dam complex, the property expands an important travel corridor for black and grizzly bear, bobcat, mountain lion, lynx, wolverine, and gray wolf. The land also provides habitat and cover for pileated woodpecker, bald eagle, sandhill crane and numerous migratory songbirds.  

To help finalize the conservation easement, MLR provided the Stowell family with compensation from the Shryer Fund, an organizational fund dedicated to protecting properties with exceptionally high biodiversity.  In addition to Atira Conservation, other partners contributing to the project included the Missoula County Open Space Bond Program and the Heart of the Rockies Keep it Connected Initiative. 

• Property Cost: $1,004,600
• Atira Conservation Funding: $14,000