Protected Islands In The Stream Help Keep Mighty Yellowstone Wild
Investing in nature: Beartooth Group and state of Montana preserve pair of wildlife-rich islands that now provides legal access to those who savor Yellowstone River by boat
The Yellowstone River moves through island ribbons, representing the epitome of a healthy riparian corridor and great stopover place for boaters.
By Todd Wilkinson
Photos by Christopher Boyer
Protecting 107 acres of land may not seem like a big deal in the capacious panorama of the American West. But when preservation takes the form of two islands in the wild and free-flowing Yellowstone River, it’s something that warrants public attention—for it’s the public, a waterway and wildlife that benefit most.
Beartooth Group, a Bozeman-based financial firm that specializes in making key strategic investments to achieve important conservation outcomes, has announced completion of a land deal that safeguards a pair of Yellowstone River islands just upstream of Reed Point, Montana. Peer above and below at the dramatic aerial photographs taken by Christopher Boyer to see the braided river and now-safeguarded parcels.
The private-public deal was done in cooperation with the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Department and consultation with conversationists. FWP purchased the property from Beartooth which had acquired the islands as part of a larger real estate deal. It is a bold reminder of why protecting the ecological integrity of this iconic river, which originates in the center of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, matters.
The Yellowstone River gathers from snowmelt and rain in the Absaroka Mountains of northwest Wyoming, then flows into and exits Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone Park, passes through the Hayden Valley, thunders over two waterfalls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, courses northward through Paradise Valley, intersects Livingston and then turns to the east.
"Projects like this aren’t about realizing a financial return; they’re about the satisfaction people can get by being involved with something that delivers a huge conservation return paid forward into the future.” —Robert Keith, managing principle and founder of Bozeman-based Beartooth Group
Nearly 60 miles later it reaches the newly acquired islands at Reed Point in the northeastern corner of Greater Yellowstone, part of a 700-mile, three-state journey that ends with it joining the Missouri River in western North Dakota.
“Riparian corridors,” the conservation biology term for lands adjacent to rivers and streams, rank among the richest habitats in nature. They provide food, shelter, wandering space and crucial access to water. That’s why, for decades, conservationists have pressed for setbacks in home construction to keep human structures out of the so-called “flood plain” and “flood fringe”—to avoid pollution threats, protect the scenic majesty of river corridors and prevent disruption to wildlife. In addition, even islands are not islands unto themselves but vital pieces in a larger whole.
In Montana, people enjoy public access to riversides below the high water mark and islands fall into that category when boaters land on them in the middle of the stream.
“The first thing I would tout about the deal is it provides perpetual public access,” says Robert Keith, Beartooth’s managing principle and founder. “Everybody assumes that islands are public, but they are not above the high-water mark. In some places, there are barbed wire fences and no trespassing signs. This deal allows the public legally to land on those islands and use them as they come down the Yellowstone.”
Crazy Mountains yonder, the Yellowstone River wends its way through a rich riparian corridor and island habitat that has not been seriously manipulated by humans.
The acquisition also permanently removes the possible threat of people putting up structures on the islands. If not protected, a worse-case scenario would have been a buyer putting in a home and then intrusively building a bridge over the river to reach the islands, Keith said, forever altering the magic at that stretch. Islands are not mere juts of "vacant" land.
Attorney and cold-water fishery protector Pat Byorth, who is the Montana Water Director of Trout Unlimited’s western water & habitat program, praised the novelty of the deal. He notes that from the river cobble surrounding them that provide important habitat for fish to the tree tops where bald eagles and osprey nest, the islands hold incredible value often not realized by the public.
Among the animals that may use these water-surrounded tracts seasonally are whitetail and mule deer, elk, moose, black bears, beavers, otter, Great blue herons, sandhill cranes and an array of other species.
Pat Byorth of Trout Unlimited notes that from the river cobble surrounding them that provide important habitat for fish to the tree tops where bald eagles and osprey nest, the islands hold incredible value often not realized by the public. Among the animals that may use these water-surrounded tracts seasonally are whitetail and mule deer, elk, moose, black bears, beaver, otter, great blue herons, sandhill cranes and an array of other species.
In light of historic high water on the Yellowstone in 2022, the islands demonstrated their resoluteness, withstanding a massive flood surge. Keith explains that islands help absorb the roaring currents that carry massive hydrological energy. They help slow down the speed and become catchments for silt and cobble that anchor the presence of trees and other vegetation.
Spring floods remind us why safeguarding the ecological integrity of river islands and riparian areas, be they in the rural West or the riverfront of Livingston if the goal is preserving the natural character of a place.
“The third thing is that everybody is happy. In this politically divisive world, protecting the islands is good for sportsmen and women, state lands and public access, and good for all of us who care about the envoironment,” Keith says. “Whether you care about juvenile spawning habitat for trout, are a wildlife watcher, a kayaker or family boaters who want a place to stop in the middle of the river and have lunch, it’s a terrific outcome.”
Ironically, an earlier disaster set the stage for opportunity. The deal was possible thanks to not only a landowner who was a willing seller and did not want to see the islands developed, but the result of an oil spill. In 2011, a pipeline owned by Exxon that carried oil ruptured sending a large volume of oil into the Yellowstone River.
Exxon was assessed a penalty and money from the settlement was set aside to fund Montana’s Natural Resource Damage Program created with bipartisan support to mitigate harm to fish, wildlife, migratory birds and habitat.
Among a myriad of creative land protection projects in Beartooth’s portfolio, Ben Alexander, Beartooth’s head of conservation transactions, says this is the first that centers on river islands. He notes that the land is now part of Montana’s state land system after Beartooth played an important role as broker.
Reed Point is a charming, quaint agricultural community, known as a hub for farmers, ranchers, and an annual sheep drive. Like many rural towns, it has faced its share of struggles.
Given the islands’ close proximity, Alexander hopes they will be as asset to the appeal of that Yellowstone River town, serving as an attractive stopover point for recreational floaters and anglers. “This new public ownership and access, building on the adjacent Indian Fort fishing access site, could put Reed Point on the map in a new way,” says Alexander.
Millions of travelers have driven along US Interstate 90, which parallels the Yellowstone for a couple of hundred miles but few realize how rare and remarkable it is to have a mighty free-flowing river beside them.
The islands, Keith and Alexander note, are home to huge mature conifers (evergreens) as well as towering cottonwoods. “As the largest free-flowing river in Montana that is constantly changing its course—a river that gives as it takes over time—these islands are a constant,” Alexander says, adding that untold generations of indigenous people and William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition likely passed them by.
Since it was co-founded by Keith in 2004, Beartooth has appealed to conservation-minded investors who want to put their money into impactful projects, often involving restoring properties to reclaim diminished ecological value. Examples are old “distressed” farms and ranches located along trout streams or at wildlife pinch points in need of rehabilitation.
“Riparian corridors,” the conservation biology term for lands adjacent to rivers and streams, rank among the richest habitats in nature. They provide food, shelter, wandering space and crucial access to water. That’s why, for decades, conservationists have pressed for setbacks in home construction to keep human structures out of the so-called “flood plain” and “flood fringe.”
Such parcels are acquired. Beartooth then enlists experts to restore their ecological function to benefit fish and wildlife and improve agricultural sustainability. The tracts are sold to buyers interested in owning them as unique conservation assets and recreational retreats. In many cases, new owners place conservation easements on the deeds and are interested in advancing wildlife-friendly livestock operations.
Investors enjoy a profit and the tremendous satisfaction of putting their money to work for the betterment of the natural Northern Rockies. In recent years, Beartooth has expanded its creative deployment of capital, attracting investors whose foremost motivation is helping to keep healthy ecosystems biologically intact.
“We’re in this to find innovative financial solutions to conservation problems and this is a great example of how investors can do something momentous,” Keith said. “Projects like this aren’t about realizing a financial return; they’re about the satisfaction people can get by being involved with something that delivers a huge conservation return paid forward into the future.”
Keith and Alexander provided a list of deal advocates. Besides Trout Unlimited, they mentioned Montana Freshwater Partners. “We’re proud to be partners in providing a win-win solution for both the river and the landowner," Wendy Weaver, Executive Director, Montana Freshwater Partners, said in a press release. “This is a positive step towards enabling and protecting the Yellowstone’s ability to move freely across its floodplain while offering another public access opportunity in Montana.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: All images above copyrighted by Christopher Boyer. To see more of his remarkable aerial photography, click here. Disclosure: Beartooth Group has been a general supporter of Mountain Journal's journalism.
About Todd Wilkinson
Todd Wilkinson, founder of Mountain Journal, is author of the book Ripple Effects: How to Save Yellowstone and American's Most Iconic Wildlife Ecosystem. Wilkinson has been writing about Greater Yellowstone for 35 years and is a correspondent to publications ranging from National Geographic to The Guardian. He is author of several books on topics as diverse as scientific whistleblowers and Ted Turner, and a book about the harrowing story of Jackson Hole grizzly mother 399, the most famous bear in the world which features photographs by Thomas Mangelsen. For more information on Wilkinson, click here. (Photo by David J Swift).
