Nominations sought for 2017 Montana Neighbor Awards

Do you know a landowner who is an outstanding neighbor? Someone who takes good care of the land for production and wildlife values, who enables neighborly recreational access, and is actively engaged in their community in working to solve problems?

If so, the Montana Neighbor Awards provide recognition for such “good neighbors.”

The Montana Neighbor Awards is a working group that includes Montana Association of Land Trusts, Montana Farm Bureau, Artemis Common Ground, The Nature Conservancy of Montana, Montana Council of Trout Unlimited and Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. In 2016 four awards were presented to leading ranching and farming families across Montana.

Awards are based on four criteria: cooperation, land stewardship/conservation ethic, neighborly land access and community leadership.

“There can be tension between landowners, public resource agencies and sportsmen. Those situations get press,” Glenn Marx, member of the awards committee, says in a prepared statement. “But the fact is there are many new and long-time landowners who are great neighbors in the Montana tradition. We want to give them recognition.”

Nomination forms can be obtained by writing to Montana Neighbor Awards, PO Box 748, Helena, MT 5624, or by email at brian.kahn@earthlink.net, montanamalt@q.com or glemon@mt.gov.

Deadline for nominations is May 21.

For more information contact Brian Kahn, Montana Neighbor Awards Committee, at 406-444-8744 or brian.kahn@earthlink.net.