Farmland, wildlife and a big yellow taxi

What do productive farmland, open space for wildlife, and a big yellow taxi have in common?

For landowners Barry and Paulie Mills, they were all a part of the equation that inspired their decision to work with the Bitter Root Land Trust to conserve their 71 acres of farmland on Sunset Bench in Stevensville, Montana in perpetuity.

The recipient of the Land Trust Alliance’s 2023 Land Trust Excellence Award, Bitter Root Land Trust provided the pathway for the Mills to honor a family legacy steeped in agriculture set forth by Paulie’s grandparents decades ago, thanks in part to critical funding received by the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program and the Ravalli County Open Lands Bond.

Growing up, Paulie Mills spent her summers and holidays on her grandparents’ ranch across the road, a portion of which is known today as Triple D Ranch — a 420-acre conservation easement also protected in partnership with Bitter Root Land Trust in 2022. Her family dates their farming and ranching activities to around 1919 when Paulie’s grandfather and great-uncle emigrated from Denmark and settled in the Burnt Fork, growing hay and raising sheep and cattle.

Paulie had always wanted to return to this area for the long term. When she and her husband Barry had the opportunity to purchase the acreage across the road from her family’s ranch, it was almost unbelievable.

“It’s gorgeous agricultural land, it has a terrific holding capacity for water, and it’s very fertile which makes it fabulous for production,” she said. “We have to understand the value in that and make sure to take care of it. The property was originally split up into apple orchard tracts during the Bitterroot Valley apple boom and has been used for agricultural purposes ever since.”

Today, the property is primarily used for alfalfa and grass hay production and irrigated pasture for cattle and horses. Wildlife that are known to use the property includes mule and white-tailed deer, fox, sandhill crane and turkeys. In the winter, the area is a known hot spot for raptors such as bald eagles and rough-legged hawks.

“This land makes you really feel something, and every day it just reaffirms for us that protecting it was the right thing to do,” said Barry Mills. “We have always loved the Joni Mitchell song ‘Big Yellow Taxi‘ with lyrics that question paving paradise and putting up a parking lot, and not knowing what you’ve got ’til it’s gone. It’s such an important thing for people to connect with the outdoors and realize a sense of place. And if we don’t protect the settings that provide that, what will replace that sense of place if we sacrifice the very thing that draws people here?”

While the Sunset Bench area has seen increasing development pressure over the last few decades, the Bitter Root Land Trust has worked with dozens of families to conserve thousands of additional acres within a couple of miles of the farm. The Mills Farm is close to many agricultural conservation easements, completed thanks in part to funding received from NRCS. Nearby conserved ranches include the previously mentioned Triple D Ranch (420 acres), Rory R Ranch (1,260 acres), Griffin Ranch (202 acres), Kerslake Ranch (93 acres), Haywire Flats (258 acres) and Peckinpaugh’s Lazy Burnt Fork Ranch (333 acres).

“Having the opportunity to work with many local families in this area, like the Mills, helps to preserve our valley’s agricultural values, open space for wildlife and scenic values of this beautiful valley,” said Melissa Odell, lands director at Bitter Root Land Trust. “With the way this property was split up into orchard tracts, the fate of the land could have easily been vastly different if it weren’t for the vision of Barry and Paulie. Their passion for this land will allow it to maintain its agricultural character forever.”

Thanks to the support of the Bitterroot Valley community and critical funding received from the Ravalli County Open Lands Bond and the NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program, Barry and Paulie’s vision has been carried out to forever protect this beautiful Bitterroot Valley landscape for future generations.

“This was the first project completed by BRLT with RCPP funding, which allows us some flexibility to help landowners with relatively smaller farms," said Odell. “We are looking forward to working with NRCS to complete future projects under this program and protecting even more critical working lands in our valley.”

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this blog are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Land Trust Alliance, its staff, its board of directors or any other individuals associated with the organization.