First Interstate Bancsystem Donates $10,000 For Education Center

Print

The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Foundation recently received a $10,000 donation from the First Interstate BancSystem Foundation and First Interstate Bank to help complete the construction of a state-of-the-art wildlife education center in Helena.

The site currently houses Montana’s state-run wildlife rehabilitation center where injured and orphaned wildlife are cared for and then released back into the wild. The wildlife education center, adjacent to Spring Meadow Lake State Park, will provide natural resource teaching and learning opportunities for schools and community groups. Plans for both facilities to be constructed primarily with private funds were a uthorized by Montana legislation in 1995 and 2003.

"We are very thankful for the generosity the First Interstate Bank groups have shown the people of Montana," said Spence Hegstad, executive director of the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Foundation, a private nonprofit group that seeks to provide private support for critical efforts of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and to take a leadership role in preserving and enhancing Montana’s natural, cultural and recreational resources. "These First Interstate Bank donations will help us reach our goal to offer the best fish, wildlife and conservation education center in the region."

The First Interstate BancSystem Foundation strives to make local communities better places to live and work by providing resources to tax-exempt organizations located within Montana and Wyoming communities.

The new wildlife education center design plan includes exhibit and interpretive areas, a classroom, a theater, a conference room, a resource library, a living stream and pond, an outdoor amphitheater, a nature trail, office space, landscaping, parking, sidewalks, and group-use areas.

Tax deductible donations for the Wildlife Education Center can be made to the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Foundation; P.O. Box 200701; Helena, MT 59620-0701. For more information, visit the FWP Foundation website at www.mfwpfoundation.org .