Western Landowners Alliance PROJECT BRIEF

Grizzlies ranging west from Yellowstone National Park are an increasingly frequent site in the valleys of southwestern Montana. For these bears to continue to move freely across a patchwork of public and private lands, for them to have a chance of making it as far west as the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness or as far north as the Bob Marshall complex, they can’t get into trouble on the ranchlands that dot the region.

In 2020, we were proud to support the Western Landowners Alliance in running a vital range rider program on this landscape, bringing a dedicated coexistence specialist to help bears, livestock and people steer clear of one another as they share these mountains.

For 2021, we’re supporting this great partner in expanding their reach to the working lands east of Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front, where bears are increasingly crossing agricultural areas as they follow river corridors out of the mountains. A new conflict reduction workshop for agricultural producers will help equip these landowners with conflict-prevention strategies and resources.