In December 2025, Vital Ground Foundation secured a conservation easement on the 4,482-acre Teton River ALE property.  The project secures connectivity habitat for grizzly bears and wildlife traveling from the mountains to prairie on Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front and secures a family ranch in a developing community.

The Rocky Mountain Front, where the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains meet the plains, is what the Blackfeet tribe calls “the backbone of the world.”  It is the only area in the Lower 48 states where grizzly bears still roam the plains.  This project will keep a large ranch intact and secure these travel corridors for grizzlies and wide-ranging wildlife species.

Vital Ground partnered with the Department of Agriculture and the Fellows family to create an agricultural land easement.  The landowner donated half the value of the easement and the Department of Agriculture funded 50% of the value.  Atira Conservation provided a grant that allowed Vital Ground to complete due diligence and close on the project, ensuring that it is managed for grizzly bear and wildlife presence in perpetuity.

 There has been significant conservation of private land in the foothills of the mountains where this land protection project is located. The Teton River ALE is east of Highway 89 and about 20 miles from the mountains. As grizzly bears expand further onto the plains, they are increasingly traveling through the project area along the riparian corridors and this project will secure these valuable travel corridors for grizzlies and other wide-ranging wildlife species by protecting five miles of the Teton River and two miles of Spring Creek.

In 2018, Vital Ground worked with more than 60 biologists to identify and prioritize the most important landscapes for grizzly bear habitat protection and connectivity and identified the Teton River ALE project area as a high priority for conservation. The project area includes 2,740 acres of important farmland, including prime soils of statewide importance. Because the project is comprised of 20 individual parcels, the Teton River ALE project area has an extremely high threat of conversion to housing development.

The protection of the Teton River property also benefits many other wildlife species. It is located near Freezeout Lake, an important stopover spot for tens of thousands of trumpeter swans and snow geese. Large numbers of eagles, geese and swans find food and security on the Fellows family ranch.

“For anyone lucky enough to experience Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front we owe a great debt of gratitude to families like the Fellows.  It’s their commitment to the open spaces, habitat and ranching community that will ensure people and wildlife will have a place to coexist in the future,” said Mitch Doherty, Conservation Director, Vital Ground Foundation.

• Total Project Budget: $4,131,147
• Atira Conservation Contribution: $10,000