Owning Property and Being a Land Steward: Part I
A few things prompted me to write this collection of thoughts today. Some were more recent influences, like my recent backpacking trip where I saw some of the most beautiful sights of my life. Other influences have been building for years as I have tried to figure out how to pair my environmental background and passion with real estate.
As temps are starting to drop and the real estate market is shifting into winter hibernation, I will have a bit more time on my hands to delve into my interests, hobbies, and business planning. It's been brewing for years (6 to be exact) and this fall/winter, I want to take the time to explore the intersection of real estate / homeownership + environmental topics that are specific to Missoula and the surrounding areas.
It was serendipitous that I took a Continuing Education course for my real estate license last month at the Missoula Organization of Realtors (MOR) called Property & Water Bodies: How to Interpret the Natural Water Bodies & Land Preservation Disclosure. I’ll admit that I was prepared for a dry talk highlighting the one paragraph in our Buy-Sell Agreement (see below) that describes how we, as realtors, are supposed to guide our clients during their due-diligence period. Instead, I enjoyed a truly entertaining, engaging, and funny presentation put on by Radley Watkins with the Missoula Conservation District. Having a degree in Restoration Ecology myself has never particularly given me a leg up as a realtor. Until today…
I admired Radley for taking on the task of explaining how to apply for a 310 permit with the Missoula Conservation District, but I admired him more for trying to explain restoration ecology to a group of realtors. For example, why you shouldn't mow along your stream front, why riparian buffers are needed, and that fallen trees in rivers are a good thing. I didn't realize how innate basic ecology topics were to my everyday thinking until I heard some of the questions being asked in the class. This is not at all to say they were bad questions! It was just eye opening to see that not everyone in my field has an understanding of these topics in the same way I do.
I think understanding the basics of ecology is fundamental for anyone who owns land in our region (and all regions, for that matter). Many people move to Montana in particular for the natural beauty that surrounds us. Living in Montana, we all have a collective responsibility to try and protect the reason we have decided to call this place home.
This is not to say that I think protecting land in Montana is more important than protecting lands in other places, but I do think that we have a unique responsibility in the Big Sky state. Montana is lucky enough to have 30% of the state held as public lands. This can be easy to take for granted, but not all states can provide its residents with easy access to natural space, forests, and undeveloped lands. For example, in my home state of Illinois, “less than 0.01% of Illinois' original 21 million acres of prairie remains.” You simply cannot undo that. Even to restore back to 1% would be an incredibly hard feat. It's for this reason that I think we should get ahead of the curve as development skyrockets in Montana. “We” refers to property owners - new and old, homegrown and out-of-staters alike! The patchwork of private and public lands is scattered and we all should take an equal responsibility in trying to connect its health.
I digress from my soap box. I will leave that to the professionals, like the folks at the Conservation District and my husband Peter who recently got his masters (!!!) from the University of Montana in Parks, Tourism, and Recreation Management and now works for the City of Missoula in the Conservations Lands Management dept.
My practical value add for you here is that if you buy / own property along a stream (which in this case refers to any flowing water. I.e. river, creek, etc.) you can't just do whatever you want because it's your “private property.” You will need to apply for a 310 permit with your local Conservation District if you want to do work in or near a stream. The good news is - its free to do so!
“Work” includes:
Putting in a permanent fire pit within close proximity to a stream
Planting or cutting down specific trees
Adding / taking out a bridge or crossway
Adding / removing rocks
A full list of qualifying actions can be found here.
I also encourage you to take a look at the list of things you cannot do, most commonly mowing right up to the edge of the bank of the stream or removing riparian vegetation.
For questions on 310 permits, you can find a great FAQ on the Conservation Districts website here.
Stay tuned for my next post on solar. I attended a separate event held by Electrify Missoula that went into details on “Incentives and financing options currently available to electrify your home” and “how we can make electrification more equitable and accessible to everyone.”