Rural Columbia Falls farm placed under easement

Hungry Horse News

A small farm south of Columbia Falls was preserved from development through a conservation easement with the Flathead Land Trust last week.

The easement will protect 38.9 acres of land owned by siblings, Charles and Diane Taylor off Columbia Falls Stage Road. This scenic property is less than a half mile from the Flathead River and three miles from the Swan Mountains. The farmstead on the west side of the property looks out over a hayfield nestled in the valley to forested slopes on the eastern side of the property with the Swan Mountains in the distance. The hayfield is underlain by rich agricultural soils including “prime farmland” and “soils of statewide importance” as determined by the Natural Resource Conservation Service, The Trust said in a release.

The forested slopes of the hill to the east are regularly used by elk, white-tailed deer, and many birds including great-horned owl, wild turkey, and ring-necked pheasant; an occasional black bear, mountain lion, coyote and fox also use the property.

The property has been in the family since 1965 and the Taylors wanted it to remain a farm with bird and wildlife habitat in perpetuity.

“My sister and I were thankful to be able to work with Flathead Land Trust in order to place a conservation easement on our land to assure the property will remain agricultural and that the flora and fauna will remain relatively undisturbed into the future,” the Taylors said.