Montana Couple Turns 655 Acres Into a Permanent Wildlife Refuge

What began with the purchase of 20 acres beside Montana’s Stillwater River has grown into a much larger conservation project, as a couple has helped permanently protect hundreds of acres of farmland and wildlife habitat.

Doug and Carolyn Kohrs first bought land along the Stillwater River in 2005 after becoming attracted to Montana’s landscape. Over the years, they continued acquiring neighboring parcels until their protected property reached 655 acres.

A Home for Wildlife

Game cameras on the property have recorded an impressive range of wildlife, including grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, elk and deer.

The land also supports a remarkable variety of birds. The Kohrs family has personally documented 95 bird species, while 127 species have been recorded in the surrounding area.

The property includes forests, wetlands, farmland and more than a mile of riverfront habitat, creating a connected landscape where animals can travel, feed and raise their young.

Protecting More Land Instead of Developing It

In 2022, the family placed the original 655 acres under a permanent conservation easement, meaning the land would remain protected from future development while continuing to support farming.

Then, in January 2026, the Kohrses protected another 110 acres next to the original property. The additional land had been considered for an eight-home subdivision, but the family purchased it and placed it under conservation protection instead.

A Larger Wildlife Corridor

The newly protected land connects with the 1,560-acre Kuhns Wildlife Management Area and a much larger block of nearly 5,000 acres of undeveloped habitat.

The additional protection also extends the conserved section along the Stillwater River to more than three miles. The river provides habitat for wildlife as well as threatened native fish species, including bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout.

Farmland Remains Part of the Landscape

Conservation does not mean the land has stopped being productive. Much of the property remains farmland, where crops including wheat, canola and alfalfa can continue to be grown.

By keeping farmland alongside forests, wetlands and river habitat, the conservation project protects both agricultural land and a wildlife corridor.

A Decision Designed to Last

For the Kohrses, the goal has been to ensure that the landscape they fell in love with remains protected for future generations.

More than two decades after buying their first 20 acres, the family has helped create a connected conservation landscape where farms can continue operating while bears, wolves, elk, deer and dozens of bird species retain space to live and move.

Sources

• Flathead Land Trust — “Kohrs Family Secures Critical Habitat Along the Stillwater River with Flathead Land Trust” — January 6, 2026.
• Whitefish Pilot — “Conservation easement along Stillwater River grows, preserving habitat and farmland” — January 14, 2026.
• Flathead Land Trust — “Kohrs Easement: Significant Conservation Easement Protects Stillwater River Farm and Wildlife.”
• Moneycontrol — “From 20 acres to 655: How a Montana couple turned their land into a permanent refuge for bears, wolves and elk” — September 29, 2026.