Case Ranch Potomac
Five Valleys Land Trust’s Case Ranch project permanently protects 2,330-acres
Five Valleys Land Trust, with support from the Keep It Connected program, closed their Case Ranch project in March 2026. Case Ranch builds on 20 years of conservation momentum in the Potomac Valley, creating essential and irreplaceable connections between public lands to the north and a network of thousands of acres of private land already protected by conservation easements to the south.
The Case Ranch project permanently protects 2,330 acres of working ranch land and wildlife habitat along Montana’s Highway 200 in the Potomac Valley. Located at the crossroads of the Northern Continental Divide, Greater Yellowstone, and Bitterroot-Selway ecosystems, the property provides an important linkage for wildlife movement across western Montana.
The ranch contains diverse habitat types including mixed conifer forest, grasslands, lush meadows, and three miles of Union Creek frontage that support a wide variety of wildlife. Elk, moose, black and grizzly bears, native trout, raptors, and numerous resident and migratory birds, including sandhill cranes, rely on the property’s intact habitats and connected landscape.
The project also conserves a critical stretch of habitat along Highway 200, where increasing traffic and development pressure threaten wildlife movement. By permanently protecting both sides of a four-mile stretch of the highway, the project preserves future opportunities for wildlife crossing infrastructure and strengthens habitat connectivity within the greater Yukon to Yellowstone landscape. The property is also located within an area identified as highly important for grizzly bear movement between the Northern Continental Divide and Greater Yellowstone ecosystems.
In addition to its conservation value, the ranch provides public hunting access through Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ Block Management Access Program, ensuring continued public access and supporting local families who rely on harvested game meat. Heart of the Rockies’ Keep It Connected program contributed to the project through funding from the Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg Foundation, helping conserve this increasingly rare undeveloped landscape in a rapidly growing part of Missoula County.
“Keep It Connected has played a key role in advancing the Case Ranch project, helping secure a large, connected landscape that supports wildlife movement, agricultural use, and long-term community benefit.” – Derek Goble, Project Manager, Five Valleys Land Trust