Springhill Family Partners with GVLT to Permanently Protect 138 Acres

Photo credit: Will Brewster

New conservation easement protects historic working landscape at the base of Ross Peak

GVLT has partnered with local landowners Teyck Weed and his wife Barbara to complete a 138-acre conservation easement in the Springhill community, located 12 miles north of Belgrade along the western slope of the Bridger Mountains. This voluntary land protection agreement will ensure wildlife habitat, clean water, productive farmland, and scenic open space remain open forever.

Teyck and Barbara approached GVLT with a clear vision: keep the landscape open, productive, and accessible to local wildlife amidst rapid regional growth.

"The primary motivation on our part was to maintain the unspoiled landscape and prevent the fragmentation of a relatively large parcel of prime agricultural land and wildlife habitat," explains Teyck. “Land is life.”

A large portion of the newly protected property is irrigated cropland leased by a local producer. The remaining area consists of valuable grassland, riparian woodland, and sagebrush, with Dry Canyon Creek running north to south, serving as a vital corridor for species including elk, deer, moose, turkey, waterfowl, black bear, and mountain lion.

"The myriad creatures that call this place home are largely excluded from the table where development decisions are made," Teyck adds. "This easement is one relatively small way that their needs for space, security, and food are met."

The Springhill community petitioned Gallatin County to create a local zoning district and ordinance in the early 1990s to protect open spaces and maintain the rural ranching lifestyle. Additionally, Teyck sought the permanent protection provided by a conservation easement.

"Springhill's zoning ordinance is a step in the right direction, but the conservation easement is a much stronger deterrent to the tsunami of development overtaking Gallatin Valley," says Teyck. "In our case, the easement was a win-win-win on a host of considerations."

"It's been an honor to partner with Teyck and Barbara to establish this conservation easement," says GVLT Conservation Program Manager Crystal Beckman. "We are deeply grateful for their vision and commitment to protecting vital wildlife habitat and the scenic rural character of the Springhill area for generations to come."

In addition to a significant donation of land value by the landowners, the conservation easement was partially funded by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Agricultural Conservation Easement Program. Federal funding programs like these are critical to making conservation a viable reality for working agricultural families.

Since Montana’s Open-Space Land and Voluntary Conservation Easement Act was enacted in 1975, over 2,500 Montana families have chosen to place a conservation easement on their property to permanently protect highly productive, wildlife-rich, and scenic open space.

Since 1990, GVLT has partnered with landowner families to complete 140 conservation easements, protecting more than 76,000 acres of open space in Southwest Montana.