Montana Land Reliance, Gallatin Valley Land Trust, Yellowstone Forever receive portion of proceeds
By Jessianne Wright, EBS Contributor
BIG SKY – The inaugural Wildlands Festival on Aug. 10 will celebrate Montana’s wild places and open spaces, with a portion of the proceeds going to benefit three of the state’s conservation organizations.
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen and country rock stars Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real will headline the event, while Montana Land Reliance, Gallatin Valley Land Trust and Yellowstone Forever will all receive recognition for their decades of conservation work in the area.
Montana Land Reliance is a state-wide organization that partners with landowners in order to protect open spaces, agricultural lands, and fish and wildlife habitat. This is a voluntary legal agreement between the landowner and MLR that prevents future development on the property for perpetuity. With offices in Big Sky, Bozeman and Bigfork, MLR is managed by a team of 14 full-time and 16 part-time staffers, as well as a board of 11 directors.
Beginning in 1978, MLR has grown its mission from a focus on river corridors to protective efforts for wildlife migration corridors and public land conservation. In four decades, MLR has conserved 1,046,701 acres across the state.
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