Montana real estate prices are skyrocketing, creating additional hurdles for conservation work. Feeling the need for a new approach, local author and conservationist Thomas J. Elpel initiated a trade-up challenge to swap a book for land for a public campsite on the Jefferson River Canoe Trail in southwest Montana.

"I heard about a guy who traded up a red paper clip for a house and a woman who traded up a bobby pin for a house, and I wondered if a trade-up challenge might be a good way to acquire land for a campsite," Elpel said.

Elpel is president of the Jefferson River Chapter of the Lewi...