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Yellowstonain Todd Wilkinson

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Author: Robert Kiesling

Robert Kiesling was a 2020 inductee into the Montana Outdoor Hall of Fame, but it was not due to any extraordinary hunting or fishing prowess. Kiesling has been at the forefront of a movement not novel to the Northern Rockies but critical to preserving its wild character—that of conservation real estate in which conservation-minded buyers are paired with conservation-minded sellers. As a broker, Kiesling has spent decades working with farmers, ranchers and landowners in putting conservation easements on their property. Bob spent time early in his career as the director of the Montana Environmental Information Center before moving to The Nature Conservancy where his actions helped preserve iconic Montana landmarks including Pine Butte Swamp Preserve west of Choteau, Crown Butte near Simms, Aunt Molly fishing access site on the Blackfoot, and Flathead Lake’s Wild Horse Island State Park. In 2005, Bob worked with the Prickly Pear Land Trust to put his own property under conservation easement and convinced three of his neighbors to follow suit. Since the 1990s, he has also been an adjunct faculty member at the University of Montana in Missoula. Kiesling presently is a partner in a conservation real estate company, Sweetwater Ranches, with Ben Pierce, who previously worked for The Nature Conservancy, and Dan Vermillion, a well known troutfitter based in Livingston, Montana and who is a former member of the Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks Commission appointed by Governor Steve Bullock. Kiesling is co-editor with Bruce Bugbee and John Wright of forthcoming book, “Saving the Big Sky: A Chronicle of Land Conservation in Montana” being published in 2025 by the University of Oregon Press.

Wildlife

What’s Facing The Madison Valley? A Longtime Conservation Land Broker Weighs In

Robert Kiesling has been an innovative forerunner in private land protection in Montana by bringing together farmers and ranchers with conservation buyers. More now than ever, he says, the Northern Rockies needs a plan for dealing with sprawl

Robert Kiesling December 4, 2024

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