About Our Montana
Our Montana is a nonprofit organization dedicated to conservation, history, and responsible recreation across the state. For nearly 30 years, we have brought people together to protect meaningful places, support community-led stewardship, and ensure Montana’s landscapes and stories endure for future generations.
Today, our primary organizational focus is supporting collaborative stewardship of the Yellowstone River, while continuing to honor and support the work carried by our board and community partners.
Our Primary Focus Areas
Working Together for Montana’s Future
Our Montana brings people together to care for the places that shape life in this state — its rivers, landscapes, history, and shared stories.
Today, our work centers on collaborative stewardship of the Yellowstone River while continuing long-standing efforts to preserve Montana’s cultural and natural heritage for generations to come.
Yellowstone River Stewardship
Education, Access, and Community Connection
The Yellowstone River is more than a landscape — it is a living thread connecting communities, livelihoods, recreation, and history across Montana.
Through education, partnerships, and community engagement, Our Montana supports stewardship efforts that help people experience the river with understanding and respect. By improving access to information and encouraging responsible recreation, we strengthen the relationship between people and place.
Stewardship begins with awareness — and grows through understanding the many ways people, communities, and wildlife depend on the Yellowstone River.
Across south-central Montana, partners are beginning conversations about long-term watershed stewardship for the Middle Yellowstone River. Our Montana is participating in these early discussions while continuing to focus on education, outreach, and public engagement connected to the river.
Yellowstone River Discovery App
Explore. Navigate. Discover.
Yellowstone River Discovery is a free mobile app created to help residents and visitors experience the river with confidence, curiosity, and care.
Whether floating, fishing, researching, or simply exploring, the app brings together navigation tools, public access information, recreation resources, and historical context in one accessible place — helping people better understand the river as both a natural system and a shared heritage.
Developed as a public service, Yellowstone River Discovery reflects Our Montana’s long-term commitment to education, access, and collaborative stewardship.
This is not simply an app.
It is a bridge between people and place.
The Bozeman Trail
A Journey Through Montana’s History
Pioneered in 1863 as a shortcut to Montana’s goldfields, the Bozeman Trail became one of the most significant and contested routes in the American West. Crossing Native homelands and shaping a complex chapter of frontier history, the trail continues to inform how we understand Montana’s past.
For decades, Our Montana has supported research, preservation, and public education surrounding the Bozeman Trail, including the creation of TheBozemanTrail.com and the publication of a detailed touring guide documenting the trail’s route through Montana.
The Bozeman Trail in Montana A Trail Description and Touring Guide
Authored by board member Ralph Saunders after years of research and fieldwork, this guide documents the trail’s route using emigrant diaries, historic maps, and on-the-ground investigation. The book includes detailed mapped locations, touring guidance, and photographs of wagon-track remnants still visible on the landscape today.
The complete publication is available on Amazon and locally in Billings. Proceeds from book sales are donated to Our Montana, Inc., supporting ongoing research, education, and preservation efforts connected to the Bozeman Trail.
Together, these efforts reflect Our Montana’s belief that stewardship includes both the landscapes we protect and the stories we choose to remember.
ADDITIONAL PROJECTS
Over the years, members of Our Montana’s board and community partners have advanced a variety of projects under our nonprofit umbrella. While our primary focus centers on collaborative river stewardship and historic preservation initiatives, we continue to recognize and support these additional efforts.
Coulson (Boothill) Cemetery
Rock Art & Heritage Project
Preserve The Pryor Mountains
Buffalo Restoration Project
Blue Creek Fishing Access & Riverfront Park
Our Montana on Community 7
Community 7 Television hosts the Our Montana program, highlighting river stewardship, historic preservation, and community partnerships across the region. Episodes feature interviews, project spotlights, and conversations with individuals connected to Montana’s landscape and heritage.
Featured Episode - 30 Years of Kite Activity
In this recent episode of Our Montana, Terry Zee Lee joins Ryan Willett and Mike Penfold to reflect on 30 years of kite artistry and community engagement. From large-scale installations to public gatherings at Amend Park, the conversation explores creativity, collaboration, and the joy of shared experiences.
Publications & Reports
Our Montana’s publications and reports document the steady work of river stewardship, watershed coordination, historic preservation, and community engagement across the region. Through newsletters, research reports, and feature articles, we share project milestones, historical insights, and organizational updates that reflect our long-term commitment to Montana’s natural and cultural resources.
Celebrate Montana with a Specialty License Plate
Show your love for Montana’s landscapes, history, and heritage with a Montana specialty license plate—available at your local vehicle licensing office.
Proceeds from the plate support Our Montana’s work to preserve and protect the state’s scenic, historic, archaeological, scientific, recreational, and natural resources—helping ensure these places are cared for and enjoyed for generations to come.
About the Design
- Features Montana’s State Flower, the Bitterroot, and State Bird, the Western Meadowlark
- Mountain imagery drawn from an aerial photograph by award-winning photographer Larry Mayer
- Graphic design by Barbara Scheppele of Cooper Creative
Preserve Montana’s Legacy
Support Our Montana’s Mission
Our Montana works to protect and preserve the natural, historic, and cultural resources that define our state — from river stewardship and watershed coordination to historic preservation and public education. This work is sustained through the generous support of individuals and partners who share our commitment to long-term stewardship.
Whether through a one-time gift or recurring support, your contribution strengthens collaborative efforts that protect Montana’s landscapes and heritage for future generations.
Prefer to Donate by Mail?
Please send contributions to:
Our Montana
P.O. Box 699
Billings, MT 59103