Nestled in the foothills of the Bitterroot Mountains on Victor’s westside, a sixth-generation ranching family’s original homestead and 160 acres of wildlife habitat, cattle grazeland, and creek frontage has been forever protected thanks to the conservation easement tool and our community’s support of landowner-driven conservation.
Owned by the Groff family since ancestor William N. Smith settled there in 1886, the Groff Timber Ranch Conservation Easement marks the completion of the family’s trio of conservation projects that they have been working with BRLT to protect in perpetuity since 2021. The projects include:
– 160 acre Groff Timber Ranch, conserved in January 2026
– 472 acre Groff Farm, conserved in June 2025; and
– 21 acre Groff Family Park, an in-progress public recreation property purchased by BRLT and permanently protected in June 2025
Together, the projects total 653 acres forever protected by the Groff family and the Bitterroot Valley’s community support of conservation, including the voter approved $10M Ravalli County Open Lands Bond Program which has helped to fund nearly 50 conservation projects in the Bitterroot Valley, protecting more than 12,500 acres in perpetuity.
The property’s scenic timber-meadow, grasslands, and irrigated pasture provide rangeland for cattle, while diverse land types such as grassland habitat, forest habitat, and riparian and aquatic habitat support a variety of wildlife. The open space lands expand and enhance the nearby areas of protected wildlife habitat along the foothills of the Bitterroot Mountains and neighboring conserved lands where abundant wildlife thrive, including fox, bear, large elk herds, deer, Sandhill crane, great blue heron, golden eagle, western toad, and monarch butterfly.
“Currently, the Timber Ranch is mainly used for cattle, but it provides much more than that,” says landowner Ryan Clevidence. “It’s not uncommon to see 150 head of elk grazing there throughout the year, as well as deer. We wanted to partner with BRLT to keep this part of Montana history as it currently is; an open space for elk to roam, cattle to graze, and for the great views it provides. Montana is known for its open landscape and beautiful scenery, and we hope that through our partnership we can preserve this.”
The newly conserved property is within proximity of approximately 2,000 acres of completed or in-progress conservation easements in Victor completed by BRLT in partnership with local landowners, adding to a growing conservation neighborhood of forever protected agricultural and recreational lands.
“The Groff family has stewarded this land for more than 100 years and six generations, and their vision for conservation is a gift to the Bitterroot that will last long beyond our lifetimes,” says Lauren Rennaker, BRLT Executive Director. “Choosing to partner with BRLT to permanently protect three individual and diverse properties, all with unique conservation features, has required commitment and perseverance. It takes the vision for conservation of landowners like the Groffs and our community’s support of private, landowner-driven conservation, including the renewal of the Ravalli County Open Lands Bond Program, to conserve the iconic open lands and way of life of our valley.”
As is common with most voluntary BRLT-held conservation easements, the property will continue to be privately owned by the landowner and can be used for agriculture or maintained as open land for wildlife movement and scenic value. The conservation easement helps landowners accomplish different goals including maintaining viable farmland for production, preserving critical wildlife habitat and water resources, and preserving viewsheds and open land. The conservation easement will carry on with the title of the property in future ownership, limiting present and future development.
“The Groff Timber Ranch not only protects our valley’s wildlife habitat, agricultural land, water resources, and open scenic values, it expands and enhances the adjacent and nearby protected open lands in the area, adding to a growing tapestry of protected open lands in Victor,” says Melissa Odell, BRLT Lands Director. “Victor’s growing conservation neighborhood serves as a natural corridor for wildlife as they travel from the canopy coverage of the forest to the valley floor. This project is a win for agriculture, wildlife, and the future of our community.”
The Groff Farm conservation easement was funded by the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), landowner donation, and local bond dollars from the county-voted Ravalli County Open Lands Bond Program.
To learn more about the Ravalli County Open Lands Program, visit the Ravalli County website.
Gash Creek runs through the property for 3/4 of a mile
