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Community members mingle at the Live Give 7B Aster After Hours event.

Greetings!,

It has been three weeks since our local giving week, Live Give 7B and wow, you showed up in a BIG way. Because of you, we surpassed our goal and together raised over $75,000 for conservation, connection and community. Your donations will be immediately put to work conserving the lands you love, connecting the people you care about to nature, and finding innovative ways to build resilient communities within the Kaniksu Region.

This would not have been possible without the generous matching gifts from a few close friends and the community-centered benevolence of Schweitzer Mountain.

Thanks to you our region also met its giving goal - raising over $300,000 amongst the 70+ non-profits who make 7B the kind of place you love to live and give.

"Nothing ever seems impossible in the spring, you know."

-L.M. Montgomery



Thank you for making it all possible,

DRY AS DIRT

What Makes a Community Worth Loving?

A small river town in Minnesota sparked big thoughts for Katie Cox about trails, parks, pride of place, and the future of our own community. In this month’s “Dry as Dirt,” Katie reflects on what it takes to create places people are proud to call home — and the role we all play in that work. Read your letter HERE.

CONSERVATION

The birds are back!

Introducing a special series of guided bird walks on properties we have conserved together! Let's kick things off on June 1st with an early morning walk at a property north of Sandpoint. We'll meet at Samuels Store and carpool. It's free, but space is limited to 10 people, so RSVP is required.

These walks are a chance to experience protected lands in a new way, listen for returning songbirds, and spend a quiet morning in nature with each other. We hope to continue the series through the summer on a different conserved property each time.

Photo: Kingfisher by Fred Forssell

A place where stillness is the only sound

Nestled in a protected valley, just over the Pend Oreille River is a lush pasture surrounded by verdant forested hills that has been cared for by the same family since the late 1800's. This property tells a story that is all too familiar. Keeping land intact is not easy, but more than just land is at stake here.

We are working hard to support this property owner while awaiting protection through a federal grant. Then these dollars will be reinvested to the next land protection project. Your support will impact conservation now and far into the future.

Thanks to the incredible generosity of our community, we’ve raised $65,000 toward permanently protecting this 320-acre property, but we still have $85,000 left to raise to keep this land together.

This is one of those moments where every gift truly matters. Small donations add up in powerful ways when a community comes together around something worth saving. If you’ve been looking for a meaningful way to help protect the forests, waters, and rural character of our region, this is an opportunity to make a lasting difference. Together, we can keep this land whole forever.

Here's how.



CONNECTION

Last week, sixth graders from across the Priest River area spent the day outside learning about the forests that shape both our landscape and our community history during the annual Forest Expo. This year marked a special milestone as the 20-year tradition was organized for the first time under Kaniksu Land Trust’s education program leadership.

Throughout the day, students rotated through 10 hands-on learning stations focused on topics like wildfire, forest biology, timber harvest, hydrology, recreation, tree planting, and forest products. Each station was led by experienced professionals—many of whom have volunteered with the Expo for years—bringing deep knowledge and real-world experience to the students.

More than just a day in the woods, the Forest Expo helps young people better understand the connection between healthy forests, conservation, and their own timber heritage that helped shape the Priest River community. For KLT, it was also a meaningful opportunity to expand our nature-immersive education work into another part of the Kaniksu Region while honoring the culture and traditions that make Priest River unique.



COMMUNITY

Sip & Support

Partnerships like this are what make our communities stronger.

Evans Brothers Coffee Roasters has selected Kaniksu Land Trust as its June Featured Non-Profit Blend partner.

The Bloom Blend was inspired by Aster Garden Center, an extension of KLT’s mission of helping people connect more deeply to nature, place, and one another. A portion of every bag sold during June will support this work we are doing together.

We’re deeply grateful to Evans Brothers not only for this partnership, but also for being one of our dedicated Partner Sponsors. Their investment in community reaches far beyond coffee, and we hope you’ll help us thank them for supporting the lands and people we all care about.



Some partnerships feel especially natural.

Local artist Maria Larson is joining us in bringing together art, conservation, and community in a way that feels deeply rooted in our local culture at a special gathering at Aster Garden Center.

Maria's art captures the wildlife and wild places that inspire the meaningful work we do together. And she wants to support that work at this special event.

The evening will feature original artwork by Maria Larson; wine from Pend d’Oreille Winery; savory bites from The Bank, 113 Main, and Winter Ridge; and sweet bites from Sawyer’s Bakery and Di Luna's. This gathering will directly support KLT’s conservation work through art sales and a special fundraising raffle.

More than an event, it is a celebration of the shared belief that protecting the character of this place takes creativity, collaboration, and community.

To preview Maria’s work before the show, visit:

marialarsonart.com/Gallery

Art & Conservation - an evening with Maria Larson

Friday, June 12

5-8 PM

at Aster Garden Center



Photo by: Sean R. Heavey: Kayla (4th from left) stands with with fellow awardees and Commerce Montana Main Street Coordinator Micky Zurcher

Montana Main Street Shines Statewide

The work happening through Montana's Main Street Program is a powerful reminder that caring for community is deeply connected to caring for place.

Across Montana, local leaders are helping strengthen downtowns, preserve community character, support small businesses, and create vibrant gathering spaces through preservation-based economic development. These efforts reflect so much of Kaniksu Land Trust’s mission of caring for land and people by building healthy, connected communities where people and place thrive together.

We’re especially proud to celebrate KLT Outreach Coordinator Kayla Mosher, who accepted the award for Outstanding Local Coordinating Program on behalf of Thompson Falls Main Street. Under her leadership, the program secured $47,000 in Main Street funding for important downtown projects and plans while inspiring even more local support and investment.

Congratulations to Kayla and all of this year’s award recipients for the incredible work they are doing to strengthen Montana communities for generations to come.



The Wine Event of the Season

Because Pairings In The Pines sells out so fast, we are giving you a heads up now to get your tickets when they go on sale June 1st.

This event combines elegant wine pairings with the sights and sounds of the forest.

Thursday, July 9

4:30 PM to 7:30 PM

Pine Street Woods

More details

Meet our newest Partner Sponsor:

Our Partner Sponsors help power this work. By covering event costs, they make sure more dollars go directly into conservation, education, and community programs that care for this region that we all love so much! Learn More



Uncover past issues of The Dirt HERE.

Kaniksu Land Trust acknowledges that we work within the traditional territories of Coeur d’Alene, Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, Kalispel Tribe, and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe.