480 acres of conservation are proposed at Smith Lake
Whitefish Legacy Partners has been awarded $3,000 from the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative to support protecting Smith Lake and connecting areas of community conservation with managed recreation. Thank you Y2Y for investing in the future of the Crown of the Continent! Read an except from our grant application below:
“The Close the Loop Project will secure permanent conservation and recreation opportunities on the open lands surrounding the Whitefish community for future generations of people and wildlife. In 2018, we will complete required Environmental Assessments and secure a conservation option on 480 acres surrounding the highly-prized Smith Lake. In addition, we will obtain agreements on critical private lands, connecting a corridor from the ~10,000-acre Haskill Basin and Trumbull Creek conservation easements to Flathead National Forest and Stillwater State Forest. Our work to protect the headwaters of Whitefish Lake will ensure clean water, protect critical wildlife habitat, provide vital conservation connectivity, offer proper recreation management, and as a result, will allow both the natural lands and local community to thrive. We recognize the community of Whitefish is an important buffer between the human populous of the Flathead Valley and the wild landscapes of northerly State Forests, federal forests, Glacier National Park, and the entire Crown of the Continent ecosystem. It is our goal to ensure our local work will protect vital wildlife corridors in the Whitefish Lake watershed, connect islands of public land in the northern Flathead Valley, protect key private and state lands from development, and offer much needed recreation management.”