Constanza von der Pahlen, Critical Lands Program Director
Constanza has been the Critical Lands Program Director since 2000. She coordinates the Flathead River to Lake Initiative and Flathead River Steward Program partnerships, which bring people together to conserve and restore lands critical for water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, recreation, and other values.
Constanza grew up in Argentina and Italy, and came to the U.S. to study in 1989. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and psychology at Wheaton College in Massachusetts and a masters in environmental studies at Yale School of Forestry. She worked in Brazil on community development and resource protection before returning to the U.S. She worked for The Nature Conservancy helping identify critical areas in western Massachusetts before moving to Montana in 2000.
Constanza’s leadership in watershed and land conservation has been recognized with the 2025 Montana Watershed Stewardship Award from the Montana Watershed Coordination Council and Montana Wetland Council and the 2020 Conservation Leadership Award from Flathead Land Trust. Her work has also been central to the Flathead Lakers’ organizational awards for collaborative watershed conservation.
She and her family love what Montana’s diverse seasons have to offer. “The Flathead reminds me of Brazil in that it still has many pristine areas and abundant natural resources that can be protected, if used wisely.”