Conservation Partners
In addition to protecting habitat, Vital Ground supports programs that prevent conflicts between bears and people. We partner on coexistence efforts in key movement areas where grizzlies and other wildlife need to safely share the landscape with people.
Conservation Partners Grant Program »
Featured Conflict Prevention Projects
Big Hole Watershed Committee
Range riding and landowner outreach in the Big Hole Valley, where grizzlies are reclaiming historic range.
Bitterroot Bear Aware Collaborative
Bear-aware sanitation, public education and landowner outreach in an emerging grizzly crossroads.
Blackfoot Challenge
One of the West's longest-running collaboratives helping people and wildlife share the landscape.
Conservation Science Collaborative
Range rider, guardian dogs and research on the Rocky Mountain Front and Blackfeet Nation.
Photo: Patti Sowka
Photo: Tom Mangelsen
Friends of the Bridger-Teton
Ramping up coexistence efforts south of Yellowstone on the Bridger-Teton National Forest.
Photo: Kali Becher
Idaho Dept. of Fish and Game
Bear-proof trash cans and landowner outreach in northern Idaho's Kootenai corridor.
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Removing bear attractants along the Little Blackfoot Valley and Rocky Mountain Front.
Montana’s Outdoor Legacy Foundation
Equipping coexistence specialists in Montana's fast-growing Flathead Region.
Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative
Removing a major bear attractant in the Madison Valley, a key linkage area outside Yellowstone.
Shoshone National Forest
Expanding Wyoming's coexistence efforts as grizzlies expand their range in the state.
Swan Valley Bear Resources
Keeping bears away from the garbage, gardens and livestock of Montana's scenic Swan Valley.
Photo: Luke Lamar
Trans-border Grizzly Bear Project
Electric fencing for landowners in the Kootenai Valley of northern Idaho and southern B.C.
Photo: Louise Johns
Western Landowners Alliance
Range rider helping Yellowstone- area bears stay out of trouble in the Gravelly Mountains.
Photo: Lance Schelvan
Yaak Valley Forest Council
Spreading bear awareness in the Yaak Valley, home to one of the Lower 48's smallest grizzly populations.
Other Conservation Partner Projects
in Grizzly Recovery Ecosystems
Vital Ground protects and restores habitat for grizzly bears and other wildlife, connecting the wild strongholds of the Northern Rockies. We group our projects based on the grizzly’s six federally-designated recovery zones, working to link these core areas into one resilient landscape.
Featured Habitat Partner Projects
Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust
Conserving critical salmon and brown bear habitat in Alaska's threatened Bristol Bay Watershed.
Luxor Linkage — The Nature Conservancy of Canada
Helping connect habitat in the Purcell Mountains of British Columbia, with big benefits south of the border too.
National Wildlife Federation
Retiring conflict-prone grazing leases in Greater Yellowstone—for bears, wolves, livestock and ranchers alike.
Darkwoods Project — The Nature Conservancy of Canada
Canada's largest private-land conservation project, conserving 212 square miles of former timberlands.