Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks has received tentative approval to enroll 10 eastern Montana properties in a newly launched state program to conserve prairie habitat.
The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission on Thursday voted unanimously to authorize the Prairie Habitat Conservation Lease Program’s first batch of agreements and signaled its support for the program’s larger objective of putting 500,000 acres of eastern Montana prairie into 40-year conservation lease agreements.
The first round of leases encompasses more than 52,000 acres. The largest lease involves a $1.4 million payment for the landowner’s agreement to place an 11,600-acre property south of Malta under a 40-year conservation agreement.
Montana Wildlife Federation Conservation Director Jeff Lukas said his organization originally opposed the transition to termed leases due to concern that adopting time-limited leases does not provide the “bang for the buck that permanent conservation leases do for a similar cost.” Ben Lamb with the Montana Conservation Society said he appreciated that the program would protect habitat, increase public access and help farmers and ranchers “make sure the home place is kept in the family.”
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