East Gallatin River corridor gains nearly 400 acres of protected land through easement

By Lilly Keller

Bozeman Daily Chronicle

Nearly 400 acres near the East Gallatin River will remain undeveloped through a conservation easement established between a local family and the Gallatin Valley Land Trust (GVLT).

The Rieschel family partnered with GVLT to secure an agreement ensuring the 391-acre property remains open and available for agriculture. The property, which offers prime farmland soils, has been used for decades to produce hay and alfalfa and graze cows.

This latest easement builds on the Rieschel family’s earlier conservation efforts with GVLT in 2003, bringing the total protected land east of Manhattan to more than 700 acres.

“It’s great to work with landowners on multiple easements,” said Crystal Beckman, GVLT’s Gallatin County conservation program manager. “Once we do an easement and it closes that's not really the end of it. We continue to work with them if they have things that they would like to improve stewardship values and build that relationship continually.

A conservation easement is a voluntary agreement between a landowner and a land trust, such as GVLT. The landowner donates development rights to the trust, ensuring the property remains undeveloped.

Even if the land is sold, the easement remains in place. Due to restrictions on development, the land may lose value; however, the landowner is typically compensated for this loss through financial compensation or tax credits.

Since 2000, the voter-approved Gallatin County Open Lands Program has compensated landowners, including farmers and ranchers, for the lost development value, making it financially feasible to conserve properties that might otherwise be sold.

Beckman said GVLT has prioritized the East Gallatin River corridor — encompassing 62,000 acres — for over 20 years, focusing on it alongside other strategic areas across Gallatin, Park and Madison counties. Within a three-mile radius, the Land Trust has established nine additional conservation easements.

These easements form a connected block of protected open space designed to safeguard water quality, preserve scenic views and support critical habitats — including native grasslands, wetlands and cultivated crops — that provide migration corridors and habitat for species such as elk, mule deer, moose and migratory birds.

“The overarching goal is to improve the existing water, crop quality, fish and bird population, in harmony with agriculture producers,” Beckman said.

Other focus areas within Gallatin County include the Amsterdam and Churchill communities, Gooch Hill and Bozeman Pass.

Since 1990, GVLT says it has conserved over 72,000 acres and through 133 conservation easements across southwest Montana.