Gallatin Valley Land Trust (GVLT) completed a 1,500 acre conservation easement on the Warfield Ranch. This project would not have been possible without the generosity of Atira Conservation and other philanthropic partners.

The Warfield Ranch is a highly scenic plot of agricultural land on the western slopes of the Absaroka Mountains. The property will remain intact and undeveloped in perpetuity, enabling the landowners to continue the multi-generational family business of running a cow-calf operation, managing productive hay ground and timberland that is a “Certified Family Forest” by the American Tree Farm System.

Bounded by Mill Creek to the northeast and National Forest to the south, the property provides critical wildlife habitat for a variety of species iconic in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The Warfield Ranch lies in the heart of Montana’s Paradise Valley, the northern doorstep to Yellowstone National Park. This region has experienced tremendous development pressure in recent years, and the lack of local zoning regulations have resulted in low-density residential and commercial development through prime wildlife and scenic lands throughout the valley in recent years. This conservation easement will help protect vast rolling farmlands, wildlife habitat and scenic open lands that define the region. 

As one of the largest tributaries to the Upper Yellowstone River, the Mill Creek corridor also serves as an important migratory corridor for wildlife moving from the Absaroka-Beartooth wilderness into the Paradise Valley to access critical winter range. Immediately adjacent to U.S. Forest Service (USFS) land, this property provides protected transitional habitat from the forested mountain front down to the grasslands and sagebrush steppe habitat on the valley bottom. The property is especially vital as winter range for the vast herds of elk that pulse out of the USFS land onto adjacent low country lands like the Warfield Ranch in the winter months. The Warfield Ranch conservation easement will soon add to a block of conserved lands on the Mill Creek drainage, as GVLT is currently pursuing two additional conservation easements that are directly adjacent to the Warfield Ranch.

• Property Cost: $1,565,000
• Atira Conservation Funding: $25,000