Former Philipsburg Mayor Daniel Reddish said their 800-some residents have a unique relationship with their hometown
“We consider ourselves callous conservationists. We work with the land, and we respect the land, and we understand that there's almost no greater value than water,” Reddish said.
When Reddish learned they would be the recipient of Trout Unlimited’s inaugural Conservation Town award he said, .
“I felt as though it was reflective of a lot of hard work and challenges that have been met in this valley, in this town for decades and decades”.
Reddish, alongside current mayor Anne Filmore, recently received the award at the town’s historic theater.
Trout Unlimited’s highlighting towns “staking their futures on conservation.” The region has invested $9 million dollars between more than 50 restoration projects since 2010 - projects preserving high quality wilderness and blue ribbon fisheries.
State Director for the organization Casey Hackathorn said Philipsburg stood out not only for the kinds of partnerships and work it accomplished, but for how much the small community has done with limited resources.
“And it wouldn't happen without relationships with people and people in these communities. So it's an opportunity to shine the light back on our partners,” Hackathorn said.
John McKinnie owns and operates a fly-fishing business in town.
“A lot of parts of Montana are kind of scarred by mining history and there's a lot of that all around this whole region… and now everyone's kind of thriving off of those. You know, places that they've decided to take a lot of effort into restoring and taking good care of,” McKinnie said.
He says businesses like his have a responsibility to take part in the restoration and maintenance of Montana’s natural resources.
