Falls Creek, Montana
The beauty of this spectacular slice of Big Sky Country is only matched by the power of partnerships, enthusiasm and creative hustle to conserve its wildlife habitat and open it to public access.
In 2019, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation worked with a landowner, who appreciated the wildlife values of his land, and other partners to create a transaction opening the door to scenic Falls Creek, located 30 miles southwest of Augusta, Montana, along the Rocky Mountain Front.
The landscape offers quality habitat for elk, mule deer, grizzly and black bears and many other wildlife species.
RMEF led the partnership group that had a three-year window to raise $2.5 million dollars.
They got it done in less than a year…and did so in time for the 2019 general hunting season.
It had been a decade and a half since the public could access Falls Creek, but the conservation solution solved that and much more.
It transferred 442 acres of what had been private land to the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest.
And that opened the door to an additional 27,000 acres of national forest systems lands beyond.
In addition to hunting, it is open for fishing along Falls Creek and the Dearborn River as well as camping, horseback riding, hiking and other forms of non-motorized recreation.
To view the sites and boundaries of RMEF land conservation and access projects, turn on the RMEF layer and use the code RMEF when you sign up for your onX subscription to receive a 20 percent discount.