Landowner Highlight: The Morton Family and Green Mountain Red Angus
In 1994 and 1997 the Morton Family placed 251 acres of their summer grazing land located on the highest reaches of Green Mountain near Bozeman Pass into a conservation easement with the Gallatin Valley Land Trust. Not only was the wildlife habitat and important connectivity corridor protected, so was their family’s history, and future, in ranching. The Green Mountain Red Angus ranch is a family business now with three generations involved in the operation. Jim and Shirley Morton had a vision for the future and created a lasting legacy of open space when they created the conservation easement. That open space now ensures a viable and successful ranching operation for their son Bob, his wife Julie, and their sons Tom and Jim. Although Jim Sr. passed away in 1999, his forward thinking use of a conservation easement has permanently protected the landscape and safeguarded the choice to keep the ranch in the family far into the future. Thank you to the entire Morton family who offer so much to our community by protecting the special place we all love, continuing the ranching traditions of the valley, and promoting good stewardship and ranching practices for the future.
Today the family continues their long tradition of ranching and manage a herd of about 230 Red Angus. The family and their calving methods in icy conditions were recently featured in the Prairie Star Ag. Update. To read the full article, click here.
For more information on Green Mountain Red Angus, click here. For a MT Stockgrowers Association video on the family, click here.