STRENGTHENING THE LOCAL FOOD SYSTEM IN CENTRAL IDAHO

STRENGTHENING THE LOCAL FOOD SYSTEM IN CENTRAL IDAHO

In meeting with grocers, school superintendents and cooks, farmers, educators, ranchers, meat processors, bakers, chefs, extension agents, community garden growers, non-profit leaders, senior center volunteers, community leaders, plant start growers, food entrepreneurs, cheese makers, backyard gardeners, and farmers market regulars, Becca and I were able to get to know the communities of Mackay, Leadore, North Fork, Salmon, Elk Bend, and Challis, to really know them. The shared fears and hopes that reverberate throughout so many rural western communities were made specific and singular in the hands and hearts, dreams and desires of the people who call Central Idaho home.

CREATING A MASTERPLAN WITH DOWNTOWN HAVRE

CREATING A MASTERPLAN WITH DOWNTOWN HAVRE

There’s something powerful in asking people what they love about the place where they live and asking them what their hopes are for the place in which they build their livelihoods. There’s something inspiring in inviting people to come together to celebrate their identify and imagine their future.

,

SUPPORTING THE PEOPLE MANAGING MONTANA SOILS

,
SUPPORTING THE PEOPLE MANAGING MONTANA SOILS

The group diligently met with the collective purpose to increase the pace and scale at which land stewards implement voluntary practices and systems to maintain and improve soil health, and thereby the long term economic and ecological vitality of agriculture in Montana. And in September 2022, JG Research produced a report, which encompassed what was learned as well as recommendations that emerged from the effort.

One of the major takeaways from the effort both for the group at large in hearing from participants in the process as well as for me specifically in facilitating the group was the hunger for community, for connection, for conversation with people who share common concerns and cares.

Community Building

Community Building

Whether we are tackling questions like “How to strengthen the local food system” in Custer and Lemhi County Idaho or “How to create more equitable land access for producers while supporting added enterprises on the landscape” in North Central Montana or “How to create more housing opportunities to support the rural community, which the surrounding working lands depend on” in Petroleum County Montana, we are ultimately bringing together those that care for a place and asking them for the solution.

SEEING THE WORLD THROUGH COLOR CONTEMPLATION

SEEING THE WORLD THROUGH COLOR CONTEMPLATION

As I listened to their grunts and grumbles, the rut certainly close if not already underway, I wondered, what does brown mean? And in that question, I found myself satisfied without an answer, fully present in contemplation and curiosity, completely slack jawed at the vast beauty of Caprock Canyon State Park.

CREATING CONNECTIONS TO IMPROVE LAND STEWARDSHIP

CREATING CONNECTIONS TO IMPROVE LAND STEWARDSHIP

As part of the services we offer to clients, we serve as a buyer’s agent in real estate transactions. With particular projects, our contributions extend well beyond closing. We have connected landowner who engaged us post-closing with a number of local organizations and will manage various projects on their property with partners like Swan Valley Connections and Lake County Conservation District.

MASTER HUNTER PROVIDES OPPORTUNITY FOR LANDOWNERS TO MANAGE WILDLIFE AND BUILD RELATIONSHIPS

MASTER HUNTER PROVIDES OPPORTUNITY FOR LANDOWNERS TO MANAGE WILDLIFE AND BUILD RELATIONSHIPS

At Topos & Anthros, we work with non-profits on strategy and engagement. Currently we are working with One Montana on a number of strategic initiatives including the landowner recruitment and retention component of their signature Master Hunter Program. Launched in 2018 to field more ethical, educated, and effective hunters, the Master Hunter Program provides landowners opportunities to build relationships with hunters in an effort to manage wildlife on their property.

MOUNTAIN WEST LAND VALUES IN 2019

MOUNTAIN WEST LAND VALUES IN 2019

Each year the USDA, through the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), reports on agricultural land values. Generally speaking farm real estate average values per acre have stayed relatively stable in New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming from 2015 to 2019. Across the Mountain Region, values have risen 8% over five years in large part due to a significant rise in values in both Idaho and Utah.

YEAR END GIVING

YEAR END GIVING

With Giving Tuesday around the corner and year-end giving campaigns underway, we are pledging donations to organizations that matter to us and inspire the work we do. We’ve created a list of folks in Montana and across the west that we think are doing meaningful work in the intersection between people and land for you to learn more!

ESCAPE TO OUR PUBLIC LANDS

ESCAPE TO OUR PUBLIC LANDS

Though there are countless ways to enjoy natural and wild places, the USFS cabin rental program provides a unique experience to convene with some of the most beautiful places throughout our country. Maintained by the USFS, the cabins are available on a first come, first serve basis by booking through the National Recreation Reservation System. Almost every aspect of staying in a USFS cabin or tower requires a bit more work than a typical vacation rental or cabin-getaway. In our experience, the reward is well worth the (mostly enjoyable) work.

WATERSHED SOLUTIONS ON DEEP CREEK

WATERSHED SOLUTIONS ON DEEP CREEK

At a recent tour of the Hahn Ranch and the greater Deep Creek watershed, ranchers along with folks from Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks (MT FWP) as well as Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (MT DNRC) spoke of the various elements that contributed to the successful improvement of Deep Creek, which has been the focus of watershed restoration for over 20 years. One of the specific efforts mentioned was the role of MT FWP in funding the conservation efforts of landowners. MT FWP has a variety of vehicles they utilize to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes including (but not limited to) funding water conservation projects related to water conveyance and irrigation methods, finding alternative / replacement water sources for participating water rights holders, and leasing water rights for in-stream flow.

WORKING FARMS IN MAINE

WORKING FARMS IN MAINE

As the average age of working landowners increases and younger generations increasingly choose jobs and lives in more urban or populated areas, the rural landscape is changing. And just as often as these changes present challenges, they present opportunities. While in Maine this spring, we visited two working farms that have addressed these types of challenges with creativity, making each challenge an opportunity to build community and connection around working lands: Wolfe’s Neck in Freeport and Aldermere Farm in Rockport.

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

We are endlessly curious about the connection between people and place. Undoubtedly the spaces we inhabit and the natural world that surrounds us shape who we are, how we connect with each other, and how we view our relationship to the plants, animals, water, and landscapes that around us. There are a handful of books that have greatly aided in our practice of broadening our perspectives.

LAND ACCESS AND AGRICULTURAL PRESERVATION VIA COMMUNITY LAND TRUSTS

LAND ACCESS AND AGRICULTURAL PRESERVATION VIA COMMUNITY LAND TRUSTS

There are a number of tools used across the country to connect people to land, promote ownership and equity, and preserve community values related to land-use. Community land trusts (CLTs) are one of these tools. Community land trusts are nonprofit, community-based organizations that aim to foster community stewardship of land.

MONTANA STATE HEMP PROGRAM DEADLINE APPROACHING

MONTANA STATE HEMP PROGRAM DEADLINE APPROACHING

Applications are due May 1st for the 2019 Montana State Hemp Program. The Montana Department of Agriculture’s Hemp Pilot Program included 58 hemp growers and included grew 22,000 acres of hemp in 2018, up from 550 acres in 2017. In 2018, Montana grew more hemp in terms of acreage than any other state.

YOUR JOURNEY AWAITS.