RD Brandon Mason with Eric and Patty Shields.
Montana
Eric Shields Easement
In 2007, Mule Deer Foundation President/CEO Miles Moretti was contacted by a man named Eric Shields about protecting his property in central Montana from future urban development. Mr. Shields has purchased his property over a number of years due to his love of the outdoors and also because he is an avid sportsman. Living in New York state, Eric truly appreciates the need for open spaces to remain intact in the wide open West.
His property, located near the town of Melstone, encompasses almost 1,300 acres towards the east end of the Bull Mountains. With a mix of Ponderosa pine hills, sagebrush dominated uplands, traditional cropland and hayland, and native cottonwood river bottoms with the Musselshell River running through them, this piece of property offers much in the form of wildlife and fisheries habitat diversity. Home to upland game, elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, numerous songbirds, and other species of wildlife, Eric felt the need to protect his property from urbanization and any other practice that could endanger the future of wildlife populations in this area. With properties in the near vicinity of his already subdivided and ready for sale, the threat of urbanization was imminent and the need to proactively protect these 1,300 acres was urgent!
Miles asked Regional Director Brandon Mason to contact Eric to discuss what the MDF could do to help protect his property for future generations to enjoy, both human and wildlife. After touring the property with Big Sky Chapter committee members John and Sheila Wilson and Shelton Hentz, months of communication and coordination between Eric, Miles and Brandon, the easement contract to protect Eric’s property in perpetuity was finally complete in December of 2008.
This easement is a notable project for the MDF, as it is the first one in which we will hold the easement. Eric has donated the easement to the MDF in order that we serve as the overseers of the terms and conditions set in writing and agreed to by him and the MDF. In addition, even though he does not charge others to hunt on his property, Eric has offered to open his property up to youth hunts and handicapped hunts for local MDF fundraising events to auction off. This is a wonderful opportunity for someone to experience a low pressure hunt with the possibility of seeing a wealth of wildlife all in one place, while at the same time raising money for mule deer.