Great Falls group seeks $1M to ensure suburban grassland remains undeveloped

Head south on Fox Farm Road and it’s not hard to tell where the city of Great Falls ends. A line of backyards on the last block of the neighborhood abruptly gives way to open space and sporadic houses dotting the hillsides.

Alan Rollo has lived on that border for 17 years on the corner of Grizzly Drive and Fox Farm Road.

“I see it as my backyard,” he said. “But also public land.”

Behind Rollo’s house is a 79-acre section of state-owned land along the Missouri River. There’s a small communications tower on the southern end of the plot, but otherwise, the noticeable developments are fencing and shoe-worn trails. Hikers, dog trainers, bird watchers and other recreationalists are the most common visitors to this natural area.

“This is probably one of the best areas for training dogs open to the public,” said Wayne Green, a retired U.S. Forest Service geologist. He’s trained two dogs on the natural grassland.

Over the past few years, a nonprofit group has been working to keep that parcel behind Rollo’s house just the way it is. The only hurdle? They need to pay $1 million by late August.

The nonprofit Missouri River Open Lands has made some progress. According to Doug Ormseth, the group’s president, it raised nearly $400,000 through grants and donations. But time is getting short.

“We have an extreme sense of urgency to raise that money,” he said.

The funding is the last piece that needs to fall into place for the group to achieve its goal. This parcel is a pocket of state trust land right up against the city of Great Falls. Set aside a century ago for the benefit of public schools, the state is obligated to generate income toward that end. 

To secure the land and prevent future large-scale development, Missouri River Open Lands had to first get a government entity to agree to apply for and hold the easement on behalf of the nonprofit. After discussions with local officials, Cascade County agreed in 2023 to apply for the easement and work with the group on a management plan.

The other piece was the funding. When the nonprofit started its own fundraising two years ago, it first had to collect about $15,000 to have the land surveyed and appraised. The result of that appraisal, completed in 2023, gave Ormseth and the group the $1 million goal. This is the figure that Montana agreed would be a fair return for its school trust obligation in exchange for an easement that ensures open, recreational grassland.

If successful, Missouri River Open Lands would ensure that the land would never be divided up for homes, condos or commercial development. As more and more houses pop up in the county south of Fox Farm, Rollo said traffic has become much more regular. The area elementary school, Meadow Lark, is the largest in the district and recently underwent an expansion.

“All that development,” Rollo said. “It’s putting a strain on Fox Farm.”

Missouri River Open Lands is looking to secure the land against potential long-term development. There isn’t an immediate threat of subdivision for this land. According to an environmental assessment, proposals in past decades included a golf course and a residential complex. Small gravel pits have operated there. For years, the radio tower has been the only source of revenue, which brought $3,374 to the state in the most recent reportable year, according to the Montana Department of Natural Resources.

Nothing has been considered that would drastically alter the area. The nonprofit, which was started by Rollo and counts Green as a board member, looks to ensure it stays that way. Supporters are even digging through Lewis and Clark journals to draw historical connections to the land and Taylor Island just across the river.

“It’s very unique because it’s basically the same as when Lewis and Clark walked on this land,” Ormseth said.

The fundraising deadline is Aug. 23, which is when the $1 million appraisal expires. Passing that deadline means thousands of dollars for another appraisal and the potential for a higher fundraising goal.

The organization can be found at MissouriRiverOpenLands.org.

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