Commerce Historic Preservation Grant Supports Conservation Museum in Missoula
The National Conservation Legacy Center, a world-class museum where visitors can learn about Montana’s conservation history, will soon open one mile west of Missoula’s airport with help from a Montana Historic Preservation Grant. The MHPG Program is administered by the Montana Department of Commerce’s Community MT Division, with grants awarded by the Montana State Legislature each biennium.
The National Conservation Legacy Center safeguards an invaluable collection of over 50,000 artifacts related to the U.S. Forest Service and is expected to attract tourism visitation and spending to a region steeped in conservation history.
“Since the U.S. Forest Service established its first regional office in Missoula in 1908, Montana has been part of our country’s conservation history,” said Commerce Director Marta Bertoglio. “This center will not only preserve thousands of rare and sought-after artifacts but will also draw visitors from around the world to see and study them. Projects like this are why the Montana Historic Preservation Grant was established.”
The MHPG Program was created during the 2019 legislative session by the enactment of Senate Bill 338, sponsored by Sen. Terry Gauthier, R-Helena. Grant funds support public or private entities with the preservation of historic sites, historical societies or history museums, sparking economic development, community revitalization and statewide tourism. MHPG funds are critical for helping projects like the National Conservation Legacy Center move forward.
The Montana Legislature awarded the National Museum of Forest Service History, a nonprofit that collects and preserves U.S. Forest Service artifacts, $300,000 for the center. Funds covered the installation of security and fire suppression systems, climate control and storage of its trove of archival items. This collection was at risk in a facility where dust, temperature and humidity concerns, insufficient fire protection, and minimal security were compounded by the growing collection’s need for more space.
Tom Petersen, development director for the museum, said, “The Historic Preservation Grant support has been instrumental in purchasing crucial equipment to ensure our archival collection of more than 55,000 items is safe and properly preserved. In these present times, the preservation of our conservation history couldn’t be more important.”
Faced with an urgent need to relocate and better preserve the maps, letters, documents, tools and equipment documenting our country’s conservation history, the museum applied for the MHPG Program in 2022. Construction began in 2024; the project is scheduled to finish this month with a grand opening planned for this summer. Visitors will encounter one-of-a-kind pieces of history like letters from Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir and Gifford Pinchot, as well as archival documents from wilderness pioneers Arthur Carhart, Aldo Leopold and Bob Marshall.
In addition to protecting these artifacts, the museum will tap into a growing trend of geotourism, where an estimated 55 million U.S. and Canadian visitors seek out distinct geologic features — which Montana has in abundance. Staffing the museum added 20 full-time positions to the local job market, as well as employing Montanans in the planning and construction of the center.
To watch a video on the groundbreaking of the National Conservation Legacy Center, published by the National Museum of Forest Service History, click here: youtube.com. For more information about Commerce’s MHPG Program, visit commerce.mt.gov.
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