Gallatin Valley Land Trust conserves southwest Montana’s heritage of open landscapes, working farms and ranches, healthy rivers, and wildlife habitat; and creates trails to connect people, communities and the land. GVLT is a member supported, accredited nonprofit organization governed by a volunteer Board of Directors representing the communities we serve.

We work to permanently conserve Southwest Montana, a nationally significant landscape by:

• Creating Conservation Easements. GVLT partners with private landowners to help sustain their stewardship of family lands using voluntary conservation agreements. GVLT works with private landowners in the Gallatin Valley and surrounding communities.
• Creating Trails. GVLT believes that by building trails we build community. Through public and private partnerships, GVLT creates and maintains trail systems that provide recreation, transportation and a connection to nature. GVLT has helped to create trails throughout the Gallatin Valley and has helped expand the Main Street to the Mountains trail system to connect Bozeman with the Bridger and Gallatin Mountains.

In 1990, Chris Boyd and several community leaders set GVLT on a visionary course with one of our first conservation and trails project at Burke Park and Peets Hill in downtown Bozeman. Since then, GVLT has helped expand the Main Street to the Mountains trail system to over 60 miles in length and partnered with 85 families to conserve more than 36,000 acres of land. The phenomenal growth of the valley over the past two decades has proven just how timely GVLT’s creation was, and that our work is not done.

In our first 20 years, GVLT has:

• Become one of the first accredited land trusts in the nation and our projects have received numerous awards, including 2009 Montana Trail of the Year from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Recreational Trails Program.
• Completed over $1 million in trail improvement projects and leveraged over $25 of conservation for every $1 invested to permanently protect more than 56 square miles of land.
• Played a lead role in establishing some of the region’s iconic parks and trails, including Burke Park (Peets Hill), Drinking Horse Mountain, Snowfill Recreation Area, and the brand-new Chestnut Mountain trail.

Imagine what we can accomplish in the next 20 years with your support!

In 2008, GVLT became one of the first accredited land trusts in the nation. The accreditation seal recognizes land conservation organizations that meet national standards for excellence, uphold the public trust and ensure that conservation efforts are permanent.

The Land Trust Accreditation Commission awards the seal to community institutions that demonstrate the ability to protect important natural place and working lands forever. The Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance established in 2006, is governed by a volunteer board of diverse land conservation and nonprofit management experts from around the country. For more information please visit www.landtrustaccreditation.org.