Habitat Projects
Photo: Randy Beacham

Vital Ground’s conservation projects protect key habitat areas that connect the wild strongholds of the Northern Rockies, from Greater Yellowstone into Canada.

Current Projects

Aerial view of the Falls Creek Project and surrounding public lands in the Cabinet Mountains
Photo: Eric Ian

Falls Creek

Protecting key grizzly habitat and public access on the edge of the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness.

Bull River-Clark Fork confluence area
Photo: Randy Beacham

Bull River Linkage

Protecting a key pathway into Idaho for northwestern Montana’s grizzlies and much more.

Vital Ground's Fowler Creek project

Fowler Creek

Sustaining wildlife movement across the Yaak Valley in Montana's northwestern corner.

Other Habitat 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 Projects

Panoramic mountain view from a ridgeline, showing layered forested peaks and a grassy valley below, with distant blue mountains on the horizon and lichen-covered granite boulders in the foreground

Warm Springs Creek

Protecting the headwaters of a critical grizzly corridor in Montana’s Garnet Mountains.

River Birch Place along Teton River
Photo: Eric Ian

River Birch

Protecting rich riparian habitat along the Teton River on Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front.

Fellows Ranch along Rocky Mountain Front
Photo: Eric Ian

Teton River

Conserving working lands and key riparian habitat along Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front.

Brock Creek project aerial view along I-90
Photo: Daniel Anderson/Y2Y

Interstate 90 Corridor

Conserving crucial acres near highway crossing infrastructure in western Montana.
Chief Mountain and Glacier National Park from the Blackfeet Indian Reservation

Kennedy Creek

Conserving crucial buffer habitat outside Glacier National Park and returning ownership to the Blackfeet Nation.

Photo: Mitch Doherty

100-Acre Wood

Maintaining an open corridor for grizzlies and other wildlife in northern Idaho.
Canola field on the Hubbard Farm
Photo: Kevin Rhoades

Kootenai Valley Linkage

Protecting working lands and a key wildlife corridor between mountain ranges in northern Idaho.

Yaak River in Broadie Habitat Preserve
Photo: Mitch Doherty

Broadie Habitat Preserve

Protecting a key habitat link across the Yaak Valley in Montana’s northwestern corner.

Clark Fork River at Donovan Creek confluence

Donovan Creek

Protecting a key linkage area between mountain ranges and ecosystems just east of Missoula.

I-90 Bridge and Clark Fork River at Ninemile project site Montana
Photo: Herrera

Ninemile Crossing

West of Missoula, safeguarding a crucial habitat connection under Interstate 90 and into the Bitterroots.
Glacier National Park peaks from North Fork Valley
Photo: Mitch Doherty

Glacier Gateway

Maintaining public access and habitat connectivity in the North Fork Valley west of Glacier National Park.

Grave Creek project and Whitefish Range

Grave Creek

Keeping a key movement area open for wildlife west of Glacier National Park.

Securing the Wild River will protect linkages and connect two isolated sub-populations of grizzly bears.

Wild River

Stopping subdivision in a key wildlife corridor along the Kootenai River in northwestern Montana.
A winding creek beneath the East Front of the Rockies
Photo: Conservation Media

Glen Willow

Grizzlies are ranging east from the Rocky Mountain Front. Private-land conservation must follow them.

North Idaho's Bismark Meadows in Selkirk Mountains
Photo: Josh Smith

Bismark Meadows

Conserving lush wetlands for the grizzlies and other wildlife of Idaho’s remote Selkirk Mountains.