Bad Rock Canyon Conservation Project

The value of Bad Rock Canyon

The Bad Rock Canyon conservation project is now a permanently protected Wildlife Management Area.

Protecting the Bad Rock Canyon property has been a dream for decades. This land is not only important for sustaining clean water, but also for providing vital habitat and travel corridors for bull trout and grizzly bears, winter range for elk and moose, and a stop for hundreds of thousands of migratory birds.

The property is open to the public May 15 - Dec.1. It will be closed to the public from Dec. 2 through noon on May 15 each year to protect big game winter range. To learn more, go to visit MT Fish, Wildlife and Parks finalizes purchase of 772 acres near Colombia Falls for new Bad Rock Canyon Wildlife Management Area.

Thank you for your strong support throughout this conservation effort.

The Bad Rock Canyon Conservation Project is part of a network of critical lands in the Flathead Valley that is important for sustaining our excellent water quality, abundant fish and wildlife, recreational opportunities, and the quality of life we enjoy. Click here to learn more about the project.

Explore the Bad Rock Canyon Conservation Project.

Hidden in plain view, 80 acres of wetlands and 120 acres of healthy cottonwood forests, within 700 acres of diverse riparian forests, run along 1.1 miles of the Flathead River. It has a warm spring, and a primitive trail sought by hikers and bikers only minutes from the growing city of Columbia Falls.

These undeveloped lowlands provide a safe crossing area for grizzly and black bears, mountain lions, wolverine, and other wide-ranging carnivores that move north and south between the Whitefish and Swan mountain ranges. A herd of elk takes refuge here in the winter. In the spring, thousands of migratory birds seek open water, food, and rest here along their long annual migration routes. Frozen creeks and lakes often greet these migrants, but the warm spring guarantees a safe place to land, when winter lingers in the valley. Bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout pepper the property’s shores when migrating to upstream spawning grounds, some as far as 150 miles from Flathead Lake into Canada.

This land is also a prime location for housing development. Development has its place and time; and, if done properly, newcomers and future generations can call this beautiful place home while also enjoying the very landscape and incredible experiences that give Montana its distinctive reputation.

The Bad Rock Canyon Conservation Project will add to a network of conserved land totaling almost 12,000 acres important to sustaining the Flathead River and Flathead Lake’s excellent water quality, abundant fish and wildlife, and the incredible quality of life we enjoy in the Flathead Valley.

Learn more about the collaborative efforts of our Conservation and Restoration Program.