Elkhorn Mountains

The Conservation Fund, working with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the state of Montana, has completed a five-year effort to preserve the Iron Mask ranch. Iron Mask is a 5,548-acre property that flanks the eastern side of the Elkhorn Mountains. The Fund has now transferred the entire property to the Bureau of Land Management.

This is a prime example of Montanans working together to protect and enhance our vast open spaces and world class hunting and recreation opportunities. I was proud to be a partner in this effort and I’m proud to see this public access dream realized.

- Senator Max Baucus, Montana

Summary

The Elkhorn Mountains stretch across 300,000 acres and stand 9,000-feet tall. The Iron Mask property abuts the eastern side of the range, which marries foothills and shrubs with forested and open ridges. These mountains host a treasured history, as both the one-time camping grounds of the Lewis and Clark expedition and the site of the first permanent forest preserve in the U.S., dedicated by President Theodore Roosevelt. Today, the Elkhorns are also distinguished as a favorite hunting spot.

Challenge

The Elkhorn Range contains some of the most important and vulnerable wildlife habitat in Montana. Lying just south of Helena, in one of Montana's fastest-growing regions, the Elkhorn Mountains are a winter haven for elk and a year-round habitat for bighorn sheep and pronghorn antelope. Encroaching development put both habitat and public access at risk.

Solution

This conservation success reflects a broad partnership, including the Elkhorn Conservation Initiative, the Montana Fish and Wildlife Conservation Trust, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and Montana’s congressional delegation. In particular, The Conservation Fund worked closely with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to ensure the Iron Mask property would remain intact for wildlife. Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) secured vital federal funding for the land purchase.

Results

Outdoor enthusiasts—not to mention elk, bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, and other wildlife—now have new room to roam in Montana’s Elkhorn mountains. The five-year effort to conserve Iron Mask was completed, with the transfer of a final parcel of more than 2,240 acres, to the Bureau of Land Management in July 2007.