Conservation Agreement for River Birch Place Protects Grizzly Bear Movement Along Rocky Mountain Front
CHOTEAU, Mont. – A rich stretch of wildlife habitat along Montana’s Teton River will be protected from future subdivision and development as The Vital Ground Foundation and a local landowner completed a conservation agreement last week for the property known as River Birch Place near the town of Choteau.
Lined with towering cottonwoods and its namesake river birch, the newly-protected property sees frequent traffic from grizzly bears moving between the nearby mountains of the Rocky Mountain Front Range and historic habitat along the prairies and waterways of central Montana. By conserving a prime stretch of habitat that connects to other protected acres, the project will help grizzlies and other wildlife avoid conflicts on neighboring agricultural areas that have seen an uptick in bear activity in recent years.
“Land conservation is the most important thing for long-term grizzly bear conservation across North America,” said Mike Madel, a retired bear biologist and the landowner of River Birch Place. “Ultimately the habitat has to be there.”
A Key Link in the Mountain-to-Prairie Chain
For nearly all of their history in western North America, grizzly bears ranged between the mountains and plains, following seasonal food availability across different landscapes. After more than a century of habitat fragmentation and population suppression, grizzly numbers in the Northern Rockies have begun to rebound over the last 50 years and bears are gradually reclaiming parts of their historic range.
River corridors like the Teton represent a crucial opportunity to protect these natural grizzly movements and mitigate conflicts as bears move from the protected mountain strongholds of the Bob Marshall Wilderness and Glacier National Park onto the patchwork of waterways, agricultural lands and communities along the Rocky Mountain Front.
The River Birch Place project protects 16 acres that connect directly to Glen Willow Ranch, a 650-acre property already conserved by Vital Ground containing miles of frontage along Spring Creek, a main tributary of the Teton. Numerous bear sightings on both properties—and documented use by bears moving between the two waterways—show how important this location is to keeping a larger habitat corridor intact.
Wide-Ranging Benefits
Beyond bears, the property’s lush riparian habitat supports deer, elk and moose movement, native trout and many species of migratory birds that move up and down the Rocky Mountain Front, from snow geese to sandhill cranes to tundra swans.
With region-wide development pressures impacting the nearby community of Choteau, the project also protects the rural and scenic character of the Rocky Mountain Front region. River Birch Place and Glen Willow lie just a few miles upstream from Vital Ground’s 4,500-acre Teton River Project, the organization’s largest conservation easement, completed late last year. Together, the Choteau-area conservation efforts are helping this important stretch of land and water remain open for wildlife and scenic values while mitigating the risk of bear-related conflicts in the community.
“There’s a long history of voluntary private land conservation efforts on Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front,” said Mitch Doherty, Conservation Director for Vital Ground. “It’s inspiring to work with landowners like Mike who recognize that protecting these places benefits not only wildlife but all of us who appreciate Montana’s open spaces.”
In addition to the partnership with Madel, key support for the River Birch Place project came from the Glide Foundation, the Heart of the Rockies Initiative Keep It Connected Program and numerous individual donors, including nearly 100 who contributed to Vital Ground’s Earth Day crowdfunding campaign for the project.
For more information contact:
Mitch Doherty, Conservation Director for Vital Ground, (406) 549-8650, mdoherty@vitalground.org
About Vital Ground:
An accredited land trust and 501(c)(3) organization, Vital Ground conserves habitat for grizzly bears and other wildlife in the Northern Rockies. Founded in 1990 and based in Missoula, Mont., the organization also partners with communities to prevent conflicts between bears and people.