Story and photos courtesy of the Gallatin Valley Land Trust.

Anderson Ranch

Robert (Bob) and Valerie Anderson have conserved their 884-acre historic family ranch located southwest of Livingston, Montana, in the Trail Creek area with a conservation easement.

Through a voluntary land protection agreement, or conservation easement, the century-old ranch will remain intact and available for agriculture for generations to come.

About the Ranch

The Andersons’ ranch is directly adjacent to protected private land and U.S. Forest Service public lands, creating a mosaic of habitat utilized by a wide range of resident and migratory wildlife species, including elk, sandhill cranes, bears, pronghorn, and a multitude of birds drawn to the 1.5 miles of Trail Creek that flows through the property. The prime farmland soils and native rangeland on the property support grass hay and cattle production.

Bob’s ancestors, the Nesbits, arrived in the Paradise Valley in the 1870s after the Civil War. His grandfather purchased the property in the 1930s, and it has remained in the family ever since. After Bob’s grandfather died in 1953, his mother inherited the ranch. Bob, a fourth-generation Park County rancher/farmer, purchased the ranch from his mother in 1980 and has been the owner and operator for the past 45 years.

Why the Landowner Chose Permanent Protection

The Andersons’ goal was simple—to keep the farm and ranchland the same as it has been for the past 100 years.

For many working farmers and ranchers, conservation easements can also help with generational transitions. Bob explains, “This agreement releases our children and grandchildren from increasing outside pressures to subdivide and ensures the land will stay in one contiguous piece for the purpose of agriculture.”

“This ranch has hardly changed since the late 1800s. If you look at pictures, it looks the same. If you are in the ag business, you have to be dedicated. It’s a hard life. Some people say you are missing out on a lot, but I don’t think I am missing out. It’s a choice I made knowing it would be tough, and I have put my fullest into it.” Bob Anderson

How the Land Was Protected

Andersons partnered with Northern Yellowstone Open Lands, a regional initiative of the Gallatin Valley Land Trust (GVLT) and funding from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), which was awarded in 2022 to the Upper Yellowstone Watershed Conservation Partnership, also led by GVLT.

The Andersons donated a substantial amount of property value to create the easement. This donation was matched by private philanthropy secured by GVLT.

NRCS’s RCPP easement programs are intended to complement other NRCS easement programs, filling the gaps other NRCS easement programs don’t address. They can be used to conserve various eligible land types that meet the goals of the RCPP project. RCPP easements provide expanded opportunities to tailor easement structure specifically to RCPP project purposes.

RCPP offers two types of easements: U.S.-Held Conservation Easements and Entity-Held Conservation Easements.

What Was Accomplished

Keeping the land intact and in production also benefits the community by protecting scenic open space, water quantity and quality in the Upper Yellowstone River watersheds, and critical wildlife habitat.

The conservation easement will protect the productive agricultural lands and grasslands on the Anderson Ranch and ensure it is not converted to nonagricultural uses.

“If you really want to keep land in ag, this is one way to do that.” Bob Anderson

About the Partners

Gallatin Valley Land Trust

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 the Missouri and Upper Yellowstone Rivers.

Northern Yellowstone Open Lands

Northern Yellowstone Open Lands is a regional initiative of GVLT serving Park County, Montana, landowners and communities who are committed to preserving the region’s unparalleled natural landscapes and working lands.

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

NRCS provides America’s farmers and ranchers with financial and technical assistance to voluntarily put conservation on the ground, helping the environment and agriculture operations.