This project is a great example of how we partner with and assist government agencies to achieve their conservation goals.

The Conservation Fund bought the entire property in June 2009 with the intent that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) would purchase it in phases, as it obtained funding. Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester and Representative Denny Rehberg championed this project in Congress and secured all of the funding for the BLM’s purchase through two annual appropriations from the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

“The public and environmental benefit from this purchase is immeasurable,” said Jim Sparks, Billings field manager for the BLM.

The property, which is about 6 miles south of Red Lodge in Carbon County, contains unique rock formations that jut out from the eastern slopes of the Beartooth Mountains, drawing visitors and nature photographers from across the state and country. Preserving this land expands public recreational access for hiking, hunting, camping, skiing and more because it connects to existing BLM lands and adjoins Custer National Forest.

This dramatic landscape also provides a home for a variety of wildlife — including grizzly bears, moose, mountain lions and gray wolves — and a rare flowering plant, Shoshonea pulvinata, which exists in only three places in Montana and fewer than 12 locations worldwide.

“Montanans benefit from investments [such as] this because we value clean water and public access to good places for fishing, hunting and camping,” said Senator Tester. “This will go a long ways toward making sure this area will be enjoyed by all of us, our kids and our grandkids.”