Troy Farmers’ Market Apple Festival PROJECT BRIEF

In September, around 1,000 folks in northwest Montana gather for the Troy Farmers’ Market annual Apple Festival. Enjoying the crisp fall weather and all things apple, the town of Troy uses the opportunity to promote bear-aware practices, such as attractant removal through fruit gleaning and cider pressing.

Located near the Cabinet-Yaak Ecosystem, which is home to a population of about 25 grizzlies and one of six U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Zones for the species, preventing conflicts around Troy is especially important. Bears moving between the larger population that resides in and around Glacier National Park and the Cabinet-Yaaks are crucial to bolstering the genetic diversity of the smaller population. We were honored to support this community effort on behalf of wildlife for the first time in 2022 and again in 2023 and 2024, while collaborating with the U.S. Forest Service on a habitat protection project nearby.