Year of Award

2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

Master of Science (MS)

Degree Name

Environmental Studies

Department or School/College

W.A. Franke College of Forestry & Conservation

Committee Chair

Dr. Margiana Petersen-Rockney

Committee Co-chair

Dr. Fernando Sanchez

Commitee Members

Dr. Hilary Faxon, Dr. Kyle Bocinsky

Keywords

Missoula County, land concentration, conservation easements, land ownership, absentee ownership

Abstract

This thesis examines private land ownership concentration and conservation easement expansion in Missoula County, Montana, asking who owns land, how that ownership is structured, and what these patterns mean for equity, access, and conservation. Drawing on the Montana State Library cadastral dataset, land cover data, conservation easement records, and public information about major landowners, the project combines GIS analysis, qualitative landowner profiling, and a public-facing ArcGIS StoryMap. Rather than making causal claims, it offers a descriptive and spatial analysis of how landownership and conservation intersect in a county shaped by extensive public lands and a limited private land base. Chapter I analyzes private land ownership concentration in Missoula County. Although private lands make up only about 35% of the county’s total land area, the 25 largest private landowners control approximately 164,265 acres, or about 28% of all private land. These holdings are dominated by corporate and LLC ownership structures, which account for roughly 82.4% of top 25 acreage. Absentee ownership, defined here as ownership by individuals or entities with mailing addresses outside Missoula County, characterizes 48% of the top 25 landowners and nearly 79% of their acreage. Land cover analysis further suggests that the largest holdings are concentrated in forested and shrub/grassland systems rather than more human-modified landscapes, indicating control over ecologically significant lands tied to habitat, watersheds, open space, and future conservation priorities. Chapter II examines how conservation easements intersect with land concentration in Missoula County. Of the county’s approximately 66,278 acres of conservation easement land, about 37.5% falls within parcels owned by the 25 largest private landowners, suggesting that private-land conservation is significantly embedded within existing patterns of concentrated landownership. Chapter III translates the findings into a public-facing ArcGIS StoryMap. Chapter IV brings these pieces together, showing that conservation in Missoula County cannot be understood only through protected acreage or public land abundance. It must also be understood through patterns of private ownership, legal structure, absentee control, and conservation governance.

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© Copyright 2026 Haley Segura