Rising more than 60 feet from the creek-bed below, the Falls Creek waterfall more than lives up to its name. But for the general public to see it, it was impossible. That is, until now. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation worked with a willing landowner and a group of partners to permanently protect and open access to 442 acres of land about 30 miles southwest of Augusta, along Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front. The waterfall is located at the back of that property.
The Falls Creek project, as it’s called, not only protects and provides public access to the immediate 442 acres, but it greatly improves access to more than 26,000 acres of public land beyond.
The property offers quality habitat and serves as spring, summer and fall range for elk. It’s also home to grizzly and black bears, whitetail deer, mountain lions and many other species of wildlife.
Falls Creek is part of the Dearborn River watershed that eventually empties into the Missouri River so quality riparian habitat, and good fishing, abounds as well.
The Falls Creek trailhead and trail, also inaccessible for years, are now open for hunters, anglers, hikers and other forms of non-motorized travel, since the acreage is now part of the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest.
RMEF and its valued partners raised nearly two-and-a-half million dollars to close the deal…and did so in time for the 2019 general big game hunting season.
Since 1984, RMEF opened more than 1.2 million acres of prime elk country to public access.
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