Wildfire mitigation is not going to stop a wildfire from happening. It means you are reducing the severity and impact of a fire on the landscape and your home.

Wildfire season is longer, hotter, and more destructive than ever. If you own land or property in Montana, creating defensible space isn't just a good idea—it's essential.

At Yellowstone Land Management, we specialize in wildfire mitigation and defensible space planning that’s tailored to your unique property, terrain, and risk level. Whether you’re a homeowner, rancher, or land steward, we help you reduce the risk of wildfire damage with strategic, science-backed vegetation management.

We assess the natural fuel loads around your home, structures, or high-risk zones, then create fuel breaks and spacing zones to stop or slow the spread of wildfire. Using a mix of hand tools, heavy equipment, and forestry knowledge, we remove ladder fuels, thin trees, reduce brush density, and create safer zones for you and your property.

Our work aligns with federal and state defensible space guidelines and can often support insurance and grant documentation needs.

You can’t stop the wind or lightning—but you can give your land a fighting chance.

✅ Benefits of Wildfire Mitigation & Defensible Space

🔥 Protect What Matters Most

• Reduce the risk of losing your home, buildings, or livestock in a wildfire

• Slow or stop the spread of flames toward structures or roads

• Give firefighters a safer, more effective space to defend your property

🌲 Improve Forest & Landscape Health

• Remove unhealthy, overcrowded, or dying vegetation

• Allow healthy trees and native species to thrive

• Restore balance to the ecosystem with strategic thinning

🚒 Increase Emergency Access & Visibility

• Clear roads, trails, and driveways for emergency vehicles

• Make escape routes safer and easier to navigate during a fire

📉 Lower Insurance Risk & Boost Eligibility

• Demonstrate proactive mitigation to your insurance provider

• Improve your chances of qualifying for or maintaining wildfire coverage

💰 Increase Property Value & Marketability

• Buyers and lenders are increasingly valuing fire-safe properties

• Well-managed land looks better and costs less to maintain long-term

📜 Meet Local & State Compliance

• Comply with state fire codes and defensible space requirements

• Help qualify for cost-share programs or fire mitigation grants

Every piece of land has a story—and a purpose. Whether you're managing a working ranch, private hunting property, or large acreage homestead, having a clear, long-term plan for your land is essential.

Our Land Management Planning & Mapping services are designed to help property owners understand their landscape, set clear goals, and make informed decisions about vegetation, water, access, wildlife, and fire mitigation. We combine boots-on-the-ground experience with mapping tools like GPS and aerial imagery to give you a customized, visual plan for how to manage your property—short and long term.

We’ll walk your land with you, assess your current conditions, and create a practical, goal-based strategy that may include:

• Forest thinning zones

• Wildlife habitat enhancement areas

• Fire mitigation priority zones

• Trail or fence layout recommendations

• Water access or erosion control planning

• Equipment access paths or utility corridors

Every plan includes a custom map of your property and a clear, actionable summary of what to do, when to do it, and how to get it done.

Whether you want to improve the health of your land, increase its value, or simply be a better steward—we’ll help you manage it with purpose.

✅ Benefits of Land Management Planning & Mapping

📍 Clarity & Direction

• Understand exactly what your land needs and where to start

• Make informed decisions based on terrain, vegetation, and use

🔥 Improved Risk Management

• Prioritize areas that need fire mitigation, thinning, or fuel breaks

• Plan defensible zones and emergency access routes

🦌 Better Wildlife & Habitat Stewardship

• Identify where to enhance food, cover, and travel corridors

• Strategically plan cuts to support game movement and ecosystem health

💰 Maximize Property Value & Utility

• Design for multi-use: hunting, grazing, recreation, or conservation

• Increase land value through managed, purposeful layout and documentation

📉 Avoid Wasted Time & Money

• Prevent rework or unnecessary clearing

• Know where to use heavy equipment vs. manual work

• Ensure legal access, property lines, and easements are considered

📜 Documented Planning for Permits, Grants & Agencies

• Use your map and plan to apply for forestry cost-shares, grazing programs, or habitat grants

• Demonstrates proactive land stewardship to buyers or agencies

Great habitat and productive pastures don’t happen by accident—it’s all about balance.

Whether you're managing for elk, deer, upland game, or cattle, the key to a thriving landscape is the right mix of food, water, cover, and space.
If your land is overgrown or choked with brush and trees, it could be limiting the feed, visibility, and grazing potential needed for both wildlife and livestock to flourish.

As avid bowhunters and land stewards ourselves, we’re always looking for ways to improve both habitat and pasture while we work.
From thinning overcrowded timber to reclaiming grasslands and enhancing water access, we’ve helped landowners across Montana create healthier, more productive landscapes—and we've seen the results firsthand.

Better land management means healthier wildlife, stronger herds, better hunting, and a more valuable, resilient property.

✅ Benefits of Wildlife Habitat & Livestock Land Enhancement

🌿 Support Healthier Wildlife Populations and Stronger Forage

• Improve grazing and forage quality by reducing competition from dense brush

• Increase sunlight and regeneration of native grasses and shrubs

• Create healthier environments for fawns, calves, birds, and livestock

🦌 Enhance Hunting and Herd Management Opportunities

• Encourage predictable wildlife movement with cleared travel corridors

• Improve sightlines and stand placement areas for hunting

• Increase pasture usability and rotational grazing opportunities for livestock

🔥 Reduce Fire Risk While Enhancing Habitat and Production

• Selective thinning and brush removal reduce dangerous ladder fuels

• Dual benefit: wildfire mitigation and ecosystem restoration in one pass

🌲 Balance the Ecosystem

• Promote natural succession and plant diversity

• Support a wider variety of species—from big game to pollinators to pasture grasses

• Reduce invasive or low-value plant species that limit grazing or wildlife use

💧 Improve Water Availability and Land Resilience

• Protect springs, develop reliable water sources for both wildlife and livestock

• Enhance drought resilience and soil health with strategic land management

💰 Add Value to Your Property

• Well-managed land increases ranch productivity, recreational lease potential, and future resale value

• Appeals to buyers interested in both conservation and agriculture

Your land should work for you—and that starts with access you can rely on.

Whether you're managing a large ranch, private hunting land, or recreational property, access is everything. At Yellowstone Land Management, we specialize in building custom trails and improving land accessibility in a way that’s both practical and sustainable.

We design and clear multi-use access routes for vehicles, livestock, ATVs, equipment, or foot traffic—always considering terrain, erosion control, and long-term impact. Our work opens up overgrown areas, connects key points on your property, and ensures you can navigate and manage your land safely and efficiently.

And because we believe in leaving the land better than we found it, we build with sustainability in mind—using low-impact methods, water-aware design, and thoughtful vegetation management to promote long-term land health.

Our services include:

• Custom trail design and building

• Clearing old or overgrown roads, trails, or utility corridors

• Access routes for fencing, livestock, feed, and equipment

• Slope stabilization, erosion control, and water flow improvements

• Strategic vegetation removal for balanced, usable terrain

• Multi-purpose access for recreation, fire mitigation, habitat work, or land monitoring

We don’t just make paths—we create lasting, low-maintenance systems that help you use, enjoy, and protect your land.

✅ Benefits of Trail Building & Land Access Improvements

🚶 Usability & Daily Function

• Reach every corner of your property safely and efficiently

• Improve movement for livestock, feed trucks, ATVs, or equipment

• Reclaim underused or neglected parts of your land

🌿 Environmental Stewardship

• Use low-impact methods that preserve natural features and reduce disturbance

• Support native vegetation and reduce invasive overgrowth

• Improve drainage, minimize erosion, and stabilize high-traffic areas

🔥 Emergency & Operational Access

• Build routes for fire mitigation, thinning, and emergency response

• Improve visibility and maneuverability for wildfire safety and defense

• Enable easier access for future land management or conservation work

🦌 Wildlife-Friendly Design

• Maintain healthy edges, travel corridors, and habitat connectivity

• Balance recreation and access with ecological sensitivity

💰 Property Value & Long-Term Savings

• Adds significant value to rural, recreational, or working land

• Reduces future maintenance costs through thoughtful layout and planning

• Appeals to buyers, lessees, and land trust partners

If you're a rancher, you know how costly and time-consuming it can be to maintain fence lines—especially when trees, brush, and debris limit access or cause damage. We clear overgrown vegetation along fences to reduce the risk of falling trees, fire damage, and future repairs.

We also open up neglected or hazardous roads, trails, and access routes—whether they're choked with brush or threatened by overhanging limbs. If you have powerlines running through overgrown terrain or backroads that need to be brought back to life, we’ll get them cleared and safe.

Better access. Less damage. Safer land.

✅ Benefits of Fence Line & Road Clearing

🔒 Protect Your Investment

• Prevent damage to fences from falling trees and overgrown brush

• Reduce costly repairs and replacements

• Increase the lifespan of existing fence infrastructure

🔥 Improve Wildfire Prevention

• Remove ladder fuels and overgrowth that can carry fire to structures

• Create defensible space along critical access routes

• Comply with fire safety regulations in high-risk areas

🚜 Enhance Access & Functionality

• Regain access to old roads, trails, and remote areas

• Improve access for equipment, livestock, and maintenance crews

• Keep boundary lines visible and manageable

🦌 Support Livestock & Wildlife Management

• Make it easier to monitor and move livestock

• Keep predators from using dense brush as cover near fences

• Improve habitat visibility for land and wildlife management

💰 Boost Property Value

• Clean, accessible land looks better and sells better

• Demonstrates well-managed land stewardship

• Attracts potential buyers or lessees for ranch and rural properties

⚡ Improve Safety Around Powerlines & Utilities

• Reduce fire risk near utility corridors

• Prevent outages from tree contact or storm damage

• Easier access for emergency and utility crews

All vegetative management improves water supply.

Reliable water is the foundation of any productive piece of land—whether it’s used for livestock, wildlife, irrigation, or fire protection. At Yellowstone Land Management, we help landowners develop, and improve water sources on your property.

Our water development services are built for real-world conditions. Whether you’re dealing with seasonal creeks, dry pastures, spring-fed valleys, we design and build practical systems that bring water where you need it most.

We work with you to evaluate your land’s natural water features and develop long-term solutions that may include:

• Spring development or protection

• Recommend tank or trough placement for livestock or wildlife

• Overflow, drainage, and erosion control

• Access roads or cleared paths to water sources

• Strategic layout for grazing rotation, fire preparedness, or habitat support

From ranch infrastructure to habitat restoration—we’ll help you manage water like the critical resource it is.

✅ Benefits of Water Development & Management

💧 Strengthen Livestock and Wildlife Support

• Reliable water access improves herd health, calving success, and grazing efficiency.

• Wildlife corridors thrive with stable water availability, supporting bigger game and more diverse species.

🌾 Increase Grazing Flexibility and Productivity

• Strategic water points allow for better pasture rotation and drought resilience.

• Healthy forage recovery builds stronger soil and long-term grazing success.

🔥 Boost Wildfire Preparedness

• Accessible water improves firefighting potential and emergency response.

• Planned water locations can serve as natural firebreak supports.

🌲 Enhance Land Resilience and Soil Health

• Proper overflow management prevents erosion and protects soil structure.

• Improved water access supports more robust plant growth and ecosystem balance.

💰 Increase Property Value and Long-Term Usability

• Well-developed water infrastructure adds operational value and appeals to conservation, agricultural, and recreational buyers.

• Reduces long-term maintenance and maximizes land productivity for multiple uses.