Gallatin County’s Open Lands Program celebrated its 25th anniversary Tuesday, marking a quarter-century of work to preserve the area’s farms, ranches and open spaces that often help define the valley’s natural beauty.

Since voters approved the program in 2000 — and most recently reiterated their support in 2018 — it has helped protect some 60,000 acres through conservation easements that keep those lands in agricultural production, with limited exceptions.

The program has also supported the creation of trail systems and parks, like the 100-acre Gallatin County Regional Park in Bozeman, where Tuesday's celebration took place.

“Twenty-five years ago, a group of visionary thinkers started to think about how much of our farmland was going to get gobbled up,” Gallatin County Commissioner Sco

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