YOU'RE INVITED

Too Big Of A Blog,
but very important.

-- The Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national land conservation organization, will be joined by U.S. Senator Conrad Burns, USDA Under Secretary Mark Rey, fly fishers and other project partners on the Madison River on July 7 to celebrate the conservation of over 1,600 acres of land adjacent to the Three Dollar Bridge Fishing Access site, between Ennis and West Yellowstone. The easement includes permanent fishing access along a one mile stretch of the fabled Madison river.

-- This past summer, TPL purchased a conservation easement on the historic 1,521-acre Olliffe Ranch, which is located on the north side of Highway 287, adjacent to the Lee Metcalf Wilderness Area and just a few miles west of Quake Lake. Funded through a $2 million congressional appropriation from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, TPL transferred the easement to the U.S. Forest Service for long-term monitoring and enforcement.

-- As part of the deal, the public has also just been granted permanent walk-in access to more than a one mile-long section of the Madison River that is ranked among the finest fly fishing water in the West and can only be reached on foot, as float fishing is not allowed. The new river trail easement, which will be formally granted to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks this summer, has long been regarded as the missing link between the Three Dollar Bridge access site to the west and the Raynolds Pass access site to the east - both located in the Madison's most popular stretch, the nine miles between Quake Lake and Lyons Bridge. With this new addition, anglers can now park at either access site and wander a full four miles in search of browns and rainbows that average over 15 inches in length.

-- Funding for the project was secured by Senator Conrad Burns (Chairman of the Senate's Interior Appropriations Subcommittee) with the support of the Montana congressional delegation. "I am extremely pleased to have helped protect this key piece of open space and wildlife habitat," said Sen. Burns.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
WHEN: Friday, July 7, 2006; 11 am
11 am - Welcome
11:30 am - Awards Ceremony
12:30pm - Lunch
Afternoon - Fly tying and casting demonstrations
WHERE: Three Dollar Bridge Fishing Access Site, Montana
Highway 287 West of Quake Lake
Location: 39 miles south of Ennis or 32 miles northwest of West Yellowstone on US 287. One mile downstream from Raynolds Pass Bridge.
VISUALS: Awards ceremony with officials and project partners at podium.
Fly fishing activities.

-- In addition to Senator Burns, our neighbor Craig Mathews of Blue Ribbon Flies, and our USDA Under Secretary Mark Rey will be present for the awards ceremony.

R.S.V.P.
Alex Diekmann of the The Trust for Public Land, 406-585-8692,
Deb Love of the The Trust for Public Land Deb.Love@tpl.org

Read about it:
Blue Ribbon Flies
U.S. Newswire
Trust For Public Land
A Visitor’s View

LODGING:
Faithful Street Inn
Slide Inn
Sleepy Hollow Lodge
Pine Shadows
Waterdog Lodging
.