Montana City snares Prickly Pear's 30th easement

Montana City snares Prickly Pear's 30th easement Main Photo

2 Sep 2025


The Prickly Pear Land Trust last week secured a new conservation easement on a 271-acre Montana City parcel on the south side of Mt. Ascension frequented by elk. One third of the nonprofit’s 30 easements are at least partially within Jefferson County – all in the county’s north.

The latest acquisition, known as the Elk Ridge easement and made with an anonymous landowner near Holmes Gulch, is a critical habitat for an elk herd that migrates between Helena’s South Hills and the Boulder Mountains.

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