SWAN VALLEY CONNECTIONS

STEWARDSHIP AND RESTORATION:SWAN VALLEY CONNECTIONS (SVC), WORKING WITH THE MONTANA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION, PROVIDES FOREST HEALTH AND STEWARDSHIP ASSESSMENTS TO PRIVATE LANDOWNERS IN THE SWAN VALLEY. PRIVATE LANDOWNERS ALSO RECEIVE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO REDUCE WILDFIRE RISK THROUGH FOREST FUELS THINNING, MANAGE TREE BEETLE INFESTATIONS, AND MONITOR TREE DISEASE OUTBREAKS. WITH FUNDING FROM SEVERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, FOREST STEWARDSHIP COST SHARE GRANTS WERE AWARDED TO 21 LANDOWNERS AND TREATED 135 ACRES IN 2025. SINCE BEGINNING THE PROGRAM IN 2004, 343 LANDOWNER GRANTS HAVE BEEN AWARDED, FACILITATING THE TREATMENT OF 3,588 ACRES OF FOREST LAND AT RISK FROM WILDFIRE, TREE AND FOREST HEALTH DECLINE, OR TREE INSECT AND DISEASE OUTBREAKS. IN 2025, 12,130 BEETLE PHEROMONE PACKETS WERE DISTRIBUTED TO 192 LANDOWNERS IN THE SWAN VALLEY, PROTECTING VALUED TREES AND PROVIDING A BUFFER ZONE TO REDUCE THE SPREAD OF A BEETLE INFESTATION TO HUNDREDS OF ADDITIONAL ACRES. MITIGATING THE ENCROACHMENT OF NOXIOUS AND NON-NATIVE PLANT SPECIES REMAINS AN IMPORTANT PART OF MAINTAINING ECOSYSTEM INTEGRITY FOR THE SWAN VALLEY. SVC OFFERED NUMEROUS LANDOWNERS WITH ADVICE ON HOW TO EFFECTIVELY TREAT WEED INFESTATIONS ON THEIR PROPERTY.THE SWAN VALLEY HAS OVER 4,000 WETLANDS, THE MOST ABUNDANT WETLAND HABITAT IN MONTANA AND IS HOME TO SEVERAL RARE AND ENDANGERED SPECIES. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE (USFWS), SVC IS ENHANCING EXISTING WETLAND HABITAT AND RESTORING DEGRADED WETLANDS THROUGHOUT THE SWAN VALLEY. PROJECTS IN THE SWAN VALLEY ARE TARGETED TOWARDS THE RECOVERY OF FOCAL SPECIES BULL TROUT, TRUMPETER SWANS, AND GRIZZLY BEARS. IN 2022, SVC AND USFWS PARTNERED TO RESTORE 609 ACRES OF DITCHED AND DRAINED WETLANDS ON THE SWAN RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, THE LARGEST WETLAND RESTORATION PROJECT IN MONTANA'S HISTORY. IN ADDITION, SVC AND THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE PARTNERED TO RESTORE 30 ACRES OF DITCHED AND DRAINED WETLANDS ON NATIONAL FOREST LAND. SINCE THE INCEPTION OF THE PROGRAM IN 2010, SVC HAS RESTORED 16 WETLANDS ON 791 ACRES.TARGETED PROJECTS IN THE SWAN VALLEY OF PREVIOUSLY DITCHED AND DRAINED WETLANDS HAVE HELPED RESTORE NESTING AND FORAGING HABITAT FOR TRUMPETER SWANS. IN 2019, SVC AND PARTNERS DOCUMENTED THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL NESTING PAIR OF TRUMPETER SWANS IN THE UPPER SWAN VALLEY IN OVER 100 YEARS! IN 2025, RECOVERY EFFORTS CONTINUED WITH A PROMISING FUTURE, AS TWO SUCCESSFUL NESTING PAIRS OF TRUMPETER SWANS WERE DOCUMENTED IN THE UPPER SWAN VALLEY.

EDUCATION:SWAN VALLEY CONNECTIONS' (SVC) EDUCATION PROGRAMS AIM TO STRENGTHEN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PEOPLE AND LANDSCAPES THROUGH PLACED-BASED EXPERIENCES. SVC TEACHES ECOLOGICAL LITERACY TO PEOPLE OF ALL AGES AND BACKGROUNDS, CULTIVATING COMPASSION AND ENTHUSIASM FOR THE NATURAL WORLD IN CHILDREN, CHALLENGING YOUNG ADULTS TO UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEXITIES OF LAND AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, AND PROVIDING RESIDENTS WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE WITH THE PLACE WHERE THEY LIVE, WORK, AND PLAY.DURING 2025, SVC CONTINUED TO SUPPORT THE MISSION MOUNTAIN YOUTH CREW (MMYC), WHICH IS A CONSERVATION YOUTH CORPS OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM THE CONFEDERATED SALISH AND KOOTENAI TRIBAL RESERVATION. THE MMYC ASSISTED IN A VARIETY OF STEWARDSHIP PROJECTS, INCLUDING INVASIVE WEED CONTROL, HAZARDOUS FENCE REMOVAL, AND TRAIL AND CULTURAL SITE MAINTENANCE.OUR EXPERIENTIAL COLLEGE FIELD PROGRAMS HOSTED OVER 45 STUDENTS IN 2025. SVC PROMOTES A PLACE-BASED, CASE-STUDY APPROACH TO CONSERVATION AND STUDIES PROCESS AND COLLABORATION TO MAKE THESE LESSONS APPLICABLE IN OTHER GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS. STUDENTS IN OUR PROGRAMS STUDY WILDLIFE TRACKING, ECOLOGY, NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, AND COMMUNITY-BASED CONSERVATION. OUR COLLEGE PROGRAMS ARE INTERDISCIPLINARY IN NATURE AND OFFER A BALANCE OF LEARNING THROUGH FIELD WORK, ACADEMIC READINGS, PRESENTATIONS BY STAFF AND SPEAKERS, PROBLEM SOLVING ACTIVITIES, AND PERSONAL REFLECTION. WE BELIEVE THAT A DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES COMBINED WITH EMPATHY FOR HUMAN COMMUNITIES LEADS TO INNOVATIVE AND THOUGHTFUL STEWARDSHIP OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LANDSCAPES. OUR NATURAL RESOURCE SPEAKER SERIES BROUGHT 4 DIFFERENT PRESENTERS TO CONDON MONTANA, SHARING INFORMATION ABOUT ECOLOGY, BIOLOGY AND CONSERVATION. ATTENDANCE TO THESE PRESENTATIONS RANGES FROM 20 TO OVER 70 ATTENDEES. IN ADDITION TO COLLEGE FIELD PROGRAMS AND OUR NATURAL RESOURCE SPEAKER SERIES, WE LED SEVERAL WORKSHOPS AND COURSES RANGING IN TOPICS FROM FIRE RESILIENCE TO WETLAND ECOLOGY. WE ALSO COORDINATED MULTIPLE CITIZEN SCIENCE INITIATIVES, INCLUDING MONITORING OWL BREEDING HABITAT, NATIVE POLLINATORS, AQUATIC MACROINVERTEBRATES, AND STREAM HEALTH. WE HOSTED A TOTAL OF 66 EDUCATION AND VOLUNTEER EVENTS, ENGAGING OVER 2,218 PARTICIPANTS.SVC IS COMMITTED TO MAINTAINING PARTNERSHIPS THAT PROMOTE EDUCATION TO A BROADER AUDIENCE. IN 2025, SVC PARTNERED WITH THE MONTANA NATURAL HISTORY CENTER, SALISH KOOTENEI COLLEGE, NATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION, THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY, THE BLACKFOOT CHALLENGE, CLEARWATER RESOURCE COUNCIL, THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA, THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE, MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE AND PARKS, WATERSHED EDUCATION NETWORK, XERCES SOCIETY, MONTANA DEQ, TROUT UNLIMITED, AND LOON LAKE 4H CAMP, AND OTHERS TO PROMOTE STATE-WIDE AND OUT OF STATE EDUCATION PROGRAMS TO A DIVERSE AUDIENCE. THESE PARTNERSHIPS BUILD TRUST, ENHANCE COLLABORATION, AND EXTEND THE REACH OF ANY INDIVIDUAL ORGANIZATION.