TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
MTMontana rankings

Towns with the most conserved land in Montana

Ranked by the share of the town's area that is permanently protected: town forests, state and federal land, land-trust preserves and conservation easements (USGS PAD-US). 19 towns with 2,500+ residents.

U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024 5-year

Anaconda-Deer Lodge County 1 Anaconda-Deer Lodge County 61.7% Conserved acres 291,015 Shelby 2 Shelby 32.8% Conserved acres 1,241 Helena 3 Helena 23.9% Conserved acres 2,636
#TownConserved landConserved acresTrails
1 Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Anaconda-Deer Lodge County9,597 people 61.7% 291,015 409.4 mi
2 Shelby Shelby3,216 people 32.8% 1,241 10.6 mi
3 Helena Helena33,639 people 23.9% 2,636 74.6 mi
4 Map of Helena Valley West Central Helena Valley West Central8,056 people 22% 3,703 36.1 mi
5 Glendive Glendive4,810 people 17.2% 382 0.4 mi
6 Billings Billings119,434 people 14.5% 4,285 38.9 mi
7 Conrad Conrad2,618 people 13.7% 111 1.2 mi
8 Red Lodge Red Lodge2,502 people 13.5% 232 5.8 mi
9 Polson Polson5,428 people 11% 336 7.6 mi
10 Deer Lodge Deer Lodge3,021 people 10.1% 101 1.2 mi
11 Map of Kalispell Kalispell28,504 people 9.6% 809 12.3 mi
12 Bigfork Bigfork5,565 people 9.3% 2,197 15.3 mi
13 Miles City Miles City8,407 people 9.1% 195 0.3 mi
14 Livingston Livingston8,780 people 8.9% 349 5.1 mi
15 Great Falls Great Falls60,329 people 8.2% 1,225 11.7 mi
16 Laurel Laurel7,215 people 6.6% 109 0.9 mi
17 Columbia Falls Columbia Falls5,615 people 4.8% 69 3.3 mi
18 Map of Cut Bank Cut Bank3,028 people 3.3% 24 1.0 mi
19 Hardin Hardin3,742 people 2.5% 48 0.4 mi

How this ranking works

We rank every town by the share of the town's area that is permanently protected: town forests, state and federal land, land-trust preserves and conservation easements (USGS PAD-US). Easements protect land from development but are often private, so not all of it is open to visitors. The town with the highest figure ranks #1.

Only towns with at least 2,500 residents are ranked; Census estimates for smaller places are too uncertain. Population and income: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Trails, streets and parks: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Conserved land: USGS PAD-US. Measured within each town's Census boundary. Town photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each town’s page.

Same ranking in other states

CA FL GA IL IN MD MI MN MT NJ NY NC OH PA TX VA WA WI All of the U.S.