FWP officials want to hear from the public on the Chip Creek Conservation Easement, a 24,000 acre project to protect grasslands and riparian areas along the Marias River north of Loma. The project would also create public access on more than 10,000 acres of these restored grasslands. The area supports a variety of game birds and deer, as well as two sage grouse leks.
FWP wildlife biologist Ryan Rauscher said that if approved, the Chip Creek Conservation Easement will be one of the largest additions to Montana's conservation easement program in recent memory.