The Missoula Board of County Commissioners on July 24 proclaimed Anne Dahl the recipient of the 2025 Missoula County Land Stewardship Award, honoring her lifetime of conservation work in the Swan Valley and beyond.

County Open Lands Manager Jenny Zazo introduced the nomination at the meeting; Sarah Holden, chair of the Missoula Open Lands Citizen Advisory Committee, told commissioners Dahl was the committee's unanimous recommendation. "Anne Dahl is, our unanimously voted and recommended awardee of the 2025 Land Stewardship Award," Holden said.

The award recognized Dahl's long service to natural-resource projects and partnerships, presenters said. Helene Michael, an Open Lands Committee member, highlighted Dahl's co-founding and long leadership of the Swan Ecosystem Center and her role in establishing relationships with the U.S. Forest Service that supported local visitor services and stewardship. Luke Lamar, co-managing director of Swan Valley Connections and Dahl's nominator, recounted Dahl's work on the Elk Creek Conservation Area, conservation easements on private lands, and the Montana Legacy Project, noting the project's conservation of "67,000 acres" in the Swan and larger conservation across Western Montana.

Lamar also described a Forest Service partnership initiated in the 1990s that contracted wilderness rangers through the Swan Ecosystem Center to perform trail maintenance and visitor education. "Without Anne's vision, there would not be any trails getting cleared or maintained or campsites being cleaned up," Lamar said.

Family members attended the award presentation; Steve Lamar spoke about Dahl's personality and local impact. Commissioners read a proclamation that states Missoula County "do hereby proclaim Ann Dahl as the recipient of the 2025 Missoula County Land Stewardship Award," dated 07/24/2025 and signed by Commissioners Juanita Vero, Josh Lotnick and Dave Stromeyer.

The award was presented posthumously; presenters said Dahl's legacy includes conservation collaborations, on-the-ground stewardship of her 21-acre property and educational efforts that reached students and residents. The county presented Dahl's family with a plaque and a copy of the proclamation.

Commissioners invited the public to view a commemorative plaque and thanked Dahl's colleagues and family for attending the ceremony.