National Conservation Legacy Center under construction in Missoula, organizers say spring 2026 opening is target

The Missoula City Council Committee of the Whole on March 5 heard an informational presentation from the National Museum of Forest Service History about the National Conservation Legacy Center, a mass-timber museum under construction on a 31-acre parcel about 1 mile west of the Missoula International Forest Service compound and visible from the interstate and airport runway.

The museum's leaders told the committee the project is intended to be a national destination illustrating the history of conservation on public lands and that construction began in late 2024 after a multi-year capital campaign. "We are a nonprofit organization," Lisa Tate, executive director, said during the presentation. Organizers said the center's target public opening is spring 2026.

Why it matters: project leaders said the center will serve school groups, multigenerational visitors and conservation enthusiasts; it houses an existing repository of artifacts and is designed to host meetings and events that could draw regional tourists and education visits. That combination could affect tourism, school programming and local event revenue.

Organizers described the building as a mass-timber structure supported by tree-like interior columns and extensive glazing. Tom Chung, an architect from Boston known for mass-timber work, is the project's architect; Anderson Construction is the contractor and an exhibition design firm called Art Processors (based in Australia) is handling immersive, interactive displays. The museum said it already maintains a repository of about 50,000 items and has run a Forest Discovery Trail on the site for about seven years.

Exhibit elements organizers described include a large digital screen (described to the committee as roughly 20 by 60 feet), 15 themed areas (fire, watersheds, habitat, forests and mountains, prairies and rangelands among them), tactile interactives for children, motion-sensing interpretation and an exhibit feature called "rings of change," an interactive timeline modeled on tree rings. The center will also include classrooms, meeting rooms, event space and a rooftop lookout.

Funding and schedule: presenters said the museum completed its capital campaign and started construction late last year. They said the project received federal support in the form of two U.S. Forest Service Wood Innovation grants for design assistance and a National Endowment for the Humanities grant for exhibits (the NEH award was described as one of roughly 30 national awards and the only NEH award in Montana for that round). Presenters told the committee they submitted federal payment requests before recent changes in federal funding timelines and had received payments; they said they "feel really good" about that aspect of funding. The presenters also said forest products partners donated the timber used in the structure and that 14 forest-products companies contributed material.

Organizers noted a ribbon-cutting took place in September 2024 that drew about 300 people and said they expect about 600 Forest Service retirees for a reunion that will coincide with late-2025 site visits; they said those visitors will see much of the completed construction even if the building opens publicly in spring 2026.

Council questions and next steps: committee members asked about location visibility, funding sources and timing. Presenters said the site includes bus parking for school and tour groups and is located near the Smokejumper area and the Missoula International Airport runway. The presenters invited council members to a preview prior to the public opening.

The presentation was informational; no formal action or vote came from the committee on this item.

Organizers' contact and next materials: the museum provided a site fly-through for committee members and said it would attach additional materials to the meeting agenda for members who wanted more detail.