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
Blackfoot Challenge
One of the West's longest-running collaboratives helping people and wildlife share the landscape.
Photo: Lance Schelvan
Photo: courtesy of Great Bear Foundation
Great Bear Foundation
Removing bear attractants through fruit pickups in the Missoula, Ninemile and Bitterroot valleys.
Photo: Hilary Zaranek
Photo: Patti Sowka
Photo: Missoula Parks & Recreation
Missoula Parks & Recreation
New partnership increases bear-friendly waste storage and education at popular recreation areas.
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Removing bear attractants along the Little Blackfoot Valley and Rocky Mountain Front.
Photo: M&R Glasgow on Flickr
National Wildlife Federation
Retiring conflict-prone grazing leases in Greater Yellowstone—for bears, wolves, livestock and ranchers alike.
Photo: courtesy of People and Carnivores
People and Carnivores
Preventing conflicts across western Montana, from the fast growing Flathead to key corridors outside Yellowstone.
Rocky Mountain Front Ranchlands Group
A wide-sweeping range rider program keeps wildlife safe while preserving family ranches on the Rocky Mountain Front.
Shoshone National Forest
Expanding Wyoming's coexistence efforts as grizzlies expand their range in the state.
Photo: Sleeman Creek Homeowners
Photo: Bureau of Land Management
Photo: SVBR
Swan Valley Bear Resources
Providing resources and promoting coexisting to prevent bear conflicts on the Swan Valley’s private and public lands.
Troy Farmers’ Market Apple Festival
Celebrating nature’s bounty while promoting respect for the wildlife with which we share it.
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.
Darkwoods Project — The Nature Conservancy of Canada
Canada's largest private-land conservation project, conserving 212 square miles of former timberlands.