Wildlands Festival Raises Over $500,000 to Benefit River Conservation

Funds will support American Rivers and Gallatin River Task Force

OUTLAW PARTNERS

BIG SKY – Outlaw Partners is pleased to share that Wildlands Festival raised significant funds totaling $513,473 to make a meaningful impact in preserving and protecting our nation’s vital waterways. 

In its second year, Wildlands Festival is committed to celebrating and supporting wild and open spaces through musical performances, fundraising and education. The two charities chosen this year, American Rivers and the Gallatin River Task Force, benefitted from ticket and sponsor sales, donations, silent and live auctions, merchandise sales and the Hooked on the Gallatin charity dinner.

Over $250,000 in auction items were donated by esteemed brands for the weekend’s events and will go directly to helping the Gallatin River Task Force, Big Sky’s local organization leading efforts in river conservation for southwest Montana, and American Rivers, who announced earlier this year their goal to protect one million miles of rivers by 2030. Funds raised at the Wildlands Festival will help the organization work toward that goal and other vital efforts.

“We are thrilled to have made such a difference this year in our fundraising efforts at Wildlands Festival, while also having the opportunity to host such an incredible music line-up and educate more people on the importance of saving our nation’s waterways,” said Eric Ladd, founder and chairman of Outlaw Partners.

Along with headlining bands, Lord Huron and Foo Fighters, the Hooked on the Gallatin fundraising event took place on Friday night of the weekend-long festival with a live auction, a speaker panel with actor Tom Skerritt, and comedy performances by Orlando Leyba and Forrest Shaw. This event alone was a success in supporting southwest Montana’s greater efforts in preserving the Gallatin River, and other rivers around the mountain west.

“The Task Force was incredibly honored and grateful to be a part of the Wildlands Festival,” said Kristin Gardner, chief executive and science officer at GRTF. “Rivers in the West, including our home waters on the Gallatin, are facing unprecedented threats. The Wildlands Festival brought increased awareness to the issues and substantial funding that will be put towards addressing these threats.”

 As one of the largest and most attended events in Big Sky, Outlaw Partners aims to continue the success of Wildlands Festival by partnering with artists, conservationists, esteemed brands and charitable organizations passionate about saving wild and open spaces around the country.

“I know we can continue to raise money to preserve our wild and open spaces while also celebrating music, mountain culture and community,” Ladd said. “It’s a special weekend for the Big Sky community and the visitors who come to share the weekend with us. We look forward to making it a success again next year.”