


Keith Swenson
Mar 1, 2022
United States
Categories:
Recreation, Open Space, Land Preservation, Conservation
Gallatin Valley, Montana, is a natural paradise home to Blue Ribbon trout streams, magnificent mountain ranges, resorts, gateway to world-famous Yellowstone Park and the city of Bozeman. When asked to name a favorite organization, I naturally thought of the Gallatin Valley Land Trust.
Most find it informative and visually captivating when you visit the Gallatin Valley Land Trust (GVLT) website. It capitalizes upon the natural beauty of central Montana's mountains and plains. And the site provides a user-friendly, interactive map developed by GVLT and the City of Bozeman. The site's gorgeous photography features dozens of smiling people enjoying the region's trails and open spaces together with volunteers and staff members in their activities in an extraordinary organization.
The website fired my imagination to wonder how a tiny band of volunteers with limited resources but outstanding commitment, patience, and perseverance, can achieve fantastic success.
The Trust's website presents a very brief history of its humble beginning, but it is current in every respect. The Trust was founded in 1990 by Chris Boyd, a guy with a dream, and a handful of volunteers that loved their small, western college town. At that time, Bozeman, home of Montana State University and "Gateway to Yellowstone Park," had fewer than 25,000 people. Chris, and his GVLT volunteers, set out to preserve the Valley's beauty and stitch together a trail system they dubbed "Main Street to the Mountains."
My wife, Dixie, and I had moved to Bozeman in the late 1980s from Miami, Florida. I met the "never shy Chris." When he learned that my profession was community planning, he asked me to join his volunteers. My role was limited, but I am proud to say, "I was there in the beginning."
GVLT's Mission Statement: "Gallatin Valley Land Trust connects people, communities and open lands through conservation of working farms and ranches, healthy rivers and wildlife habitat, and the creation of trails in the Montana headwaters of Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers."
Since its founding in 1990, GVLT has helped preserve 78 square miles of land and expanded the "Main Street to the Mountains Trail System" to over 90 miles in length. What the Trust has achieved is remarkable. It started with one guy who had a dream and a handful of volunteers who shared his love of the environment.
GVLT's most recent accomplishments include the 12 acres "Peets Hill" acquisition initiated in 2021. A favorite sledding hill, this valuable parcel provided the final link in the Main Street to the Mountains trail system envisioned by Chris 32 years ago. Seven hundred donors responded to the capital fund campaign. The City of Bozeman stepped in to make up the difference, and the deal was closed in January 2022.
The GVLT story is singularly vital as an illustration of what an individual with a dream and a small group of volunteers with minimal resources can achieve with persistence and a "Yes We Can" attitude. It may be cleaning up a stream, putting together a community garden, or building a neighborhood of tiny homes. The GVLT approach applies to just about any potential community project worldwide.
GVLT recognized the potential problem many organizations face when they reach "middle age." Hence, they came up with a clever solution. The Trust created the "Next-Gen STIR" group or Next Generation Socialize, Talk, Interact and Remember. Each year, there is an open invitation for young community "movers and shakers" in their 20s to join the group. Membership is limited and coveted. Often described as an organization within an organization, its events are free-wheeling, exciting, and full of energy. The events support the GVLT mission on so many different fronts. It is a novel and fun way to get younger people involved with GVLT and raise the next generation of leaders.
Involving the younger generation is critical to the continued success of the Land Trust, and the lesson applies to community groups globally. Though GVLT's founder, Chris Boyd, has passed away, the GVLT lives on and continues to be a vibrant and robust organization 32 years young.
Think about groups you may be associated with and give this creative idea a try. It may mark the beginning of an exciting future for your vision.
To learn more about the Gallatin Valley Land Trust, please visit the link below.
Source:
Source:

Catalog #:
0222.104.01.030122