Conservation Partners
Photo: People and Carnivores
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.
Photo: courtesy of BNSGA
Blackfeet Nation Stock Growers Association
Electric fencing for 4-H livestock in grizzly country east of Glacier National Park.
Photo: Brendon Moynihan
Clearwater Resource Council
In the scenic Swan Valley, new bear-proof sanitation for the Seeley Lake community.
Photo: Kevin Rhoades
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
Teaming up with tribal wildlife officials on electric fencing to curb conflicts in Montana's Mission Valley.
Conservation Science Collaborative
Range rider, guardian dogs and research on the Rocky Mountain Front and Blackfeet Nation.
Photo: courtesy of Great Bear Foundation
Great Bear Foundation
Removing bear attractants through fruit pickups in the Missoula, Ninemile and Bitterroot valleys.
Photo: courtesy of Madison Valley Ranchlands Group
Madison Valley Ranchlands Group
On the edge of Greater Yellowstone, preventing conflicts with livestock through attractant removal and composting.
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Removing bear attractants along the Little Blackfoot Valley and Rocky Mountain Front.
Photo: courtesy of People and Carnivores
People and Carnivores
Electric fencing for homeowners and agricultural producers in Montana’s Flathead Valley.
Photo: Luke Lamar
Trans-border Grizzly Bear Project
Electric fencing for landowners in the Kootenai Valley of northern Idaho and southern B.C.
Watershed Restoration Coalition
A new composting facility for agricultural producers in Montana's Upper Clark Fork Valley.
Photo: Louise Johns
Western Landowners Alliance
Helping landowners prevent conflicts beyond Yellowstone and the Rocky Mountain Front.
Photo: courtesy of WRBI
Wind River Bear Institute
Bear incident response and landowner outreach, with help from canine conservationists.
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
Photo: Flathead Land Trust
Flathead Land Trust
A crucial public-private collaboration to conserve a key habitat corridor threatened by development.
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.
Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust
Conserving critical salmon and brown bear habitat in Alaska's threatened Bristol Bay Watershed.
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.