Preserving Heritage and Habitat: Prickly Pear Land Trust

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Prickly Pear Land Trust (PPLT), located in Helena, Montana, connects land and people through conservation, recreation and education. Since 1995, PPLT has permanently protected more than 26,000 acres of private land in Montana and expanded public land access by donating nearly 1,400 acres to Helena’s South Hills community. PPLT has a membership base of nearly 30,000 people, with whom it partners to build new trails and parks that benefit all Montanans.

Each PPLT land protection agreement is unique and tailored to meet the landowner’s needs and the land’s vital conservation qualities while ensuring that this and all future generations benefit from these cherished open space landscapes.  But PPLT went a step further with its recently completed Avalanche Ranch land protection project, creating a first-of-its-kind easement that ensures the cultural heritage of the Blackfeet Nation is recognized and protected for time immemorial.

The Avalanche Ranch in Helena provides a rare opportunity since the project protects the land for conservation and wildlife and honors its importance as culturally significant land that Indigenous peoples have stewarded for thousands of years. Several years ago, a Blackfeet family who owns and stewards the Avalanche Ranch approached PPLT to ask if they would be willing to partner with them to protect the Blackfeet cultural heritage of their 5300-acre ranch. This was to honor the wishes of their grandparents, Fred and Ramona Des Rosier, who wanted to ensure all future Blackfeet people could enjoy the profound historical and spiritual ties they had to this land. This led PPLT to co-develop a conservation agreement with the family that legally safeguards ceremonial sites, protects and perpetuates traditional practices, and provides access to hunting and food gathering grounds utilized by the Des Rosier family and their Blackfeet ancestors for thousands of years. It also offers additional protections to continue practicing ceremonies and maintain Indigenous relationships to the land as they have for generations.

In the spirit of true partnership, PPLT worked with the Des Rosier family to identify the cultural aspects that needed protection. In that process, the family emphasized the need to include cultural traditions in the easement, ensuring they can continue practices like holding sun and sweat ceremonies, setting up temporary lodges, hunting, bison grazing, prescribed burning and gathering traditional foods and medicines. It also safeguards cultural sites and artifacts from being disturbed or divided. By securing these rights on behalf of the Blackfeet people, the easement ensures that Indigenous people, now and in the future, can visit, celebrate and uphold the traditions their ancestors established thousands of years ago.

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation granted $220,000 to PPLT to support its Avalanche Cultural Conservation Easement project, which protects the Avalanche Ranch’s 5,300 acres of intact grasslands, shrublands and diverse high-elevation forest from future conversion. This Environment grant from the foundation supports our Land goal of protecting native grasslands across Montana. This project was also co-funded by Kendeda Fund, a philanthropy that AMBFF board member Dena Kimball led.

“In the West, open spaces and public lands are essential for conservation, recreation, livelihoods and cultural heritage. These landscapes are where we work, find solace and connect,” said Mary Hollow, PPLT Executive Director. “As we celebrate Earth Day 2025, we need to recognize that Mother Earth needs our collective support now more than ever. While the challenges are immense, so are the opportunities for meaningful impact. And land trusts have become vital to preserving the fabric of life.”

Beyond its clear ecological value, Avalanche Ranch represents a crucial cultural conservation effort. This project is a model for how conservation can protect historical storylines, honor and sustain cultural relationships to land and preserve the environment.