2025 brought exciting wins and challenging setbacks in our efforts to support land conservation throughout the county. Learn more about the projects, the partnerships, and the people who make this work possible.

Read Bozeman Daily Chronicle article.

Read the December 2025 Montana Free Press article.

Following a successful major fundraising campaign that attracted more than 800 donors, GVLT, the City of Bozeman, and Southwest Montana Mountain Bike Association (SWMMBA) are moving forward with plans to build Bikefill, a world-class community bike park for all ages and abilities.

We’d love to hear about your interest in becoming our next Lands Director, one of the great conservation leadership positions in the West. It’s a rare opportunity to help lead a highly respected and accomplished land trust in a region of remarkable beauty.

As 2025 comes to a close, three of our amazing Board Members are preparing to wrap up their terms with GVLT. We want to express our deepest gratitude to Bill Cochran, Mimi Helvie, and Jeff Ott for their dedicated service to our organization and mission of trails and conservation.

On the Trail With Dayle Guest Columnist, Dayle Hayes, digs into where the advice to walk 10,000 steps a day came from and whether we should use it to judge our own activity and lifestyle.

Read reflections from GVLT Conservation Director Brendan Weiner as he wraps up his incredible 12-year tenure with the land trust and see messages of appreciation from colleagues and partners for his legacy of conservation.

At our recent Field Day event, we were delighted to honor Dotty Ballantyne with the GVLT Lifetime Service Award for decades of dedication to preserving scenic beauty, supporting the organization, and cherishing our trail system.

Learn how an abandoned railway was transformed into a scenic trail thanks to the persistence and dedication of two West Yellowstone women and support from countless local donations and grants, including $100,000 from the Gallatin County Open Lands Program.

GVLT Trail Stewardship Specialist Gill Thorp describes her summer gathering data with a high-tech stroller to help improve trail accessibility.

The City of Bozeman and GVLT will begin Phase 2 construction on the Burke Park Traverse Trail on October 6, continuing efforts to formalize and improve a long-standing social trail on the western slope of Burke Park/Peets Hill.

Private philanthropy has emerged as a critical driver in land conservation, helping protect productive agricultural, wildlife-rich, and scenic open lands.

Bozeman’s beloved Gallatin County Regional Park exists thanks to the residents of Gallatin County and their support for the Open Lands Program, which helped fund the acquisition of the 87-acre park. Learn more about how a rare opportunity became a stunning jewel.

On the Trail With Dayle Guest Columnist, Dayle Hayes, shares haikus from friends, family, and the wider GVLT community inspired by trails and open lands.

Guest columnist Dayle Hayes is back with stories and interesting details about her favorite wildflower. Can you guess what it is?

The already established conservation easement on Rocky Creek Farm was important to Matt and Jacy Rothschillers and their group of investors when they purchased the property in 2017 to expand their certified-organic Gallatin Valley Botanical operations. The Gallatin County Open Lands program helped cover transaction costs for the project when the easement was created by the previous landowner, Pete Fay, in 2006.

GVLT Board Member Bill Cochran has been passionate about building a community bike park that could serve all ages and abilities since the idea was born 13 years ago. Read his Bozeman Daily Chronicle Guest Column to learn why he is so excited to see this dream become a reality.

Guest columnist Dayle Hayes introduces the concept of shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, and shares her favorite sites to connect with nature and take in the sights, sounds, and smells of other living things.

How one man's vision—and support from the Gallatin County Open Lands Program—helped Three Forks build and maintain a trail system that connects the community.