The Vital Ground Foundation was founded in 1990 to protect and restore North America’s grizzly bear populations for future generations by conserving wildlife habitat and by supporting programs that reduce conflicts between bears and humans. Based in Missoula, Montana, the Foundation works throughout the northern Rocky Mountains and Inland Northwest to conserve land for grizzly bears and the many native species that share their range.
As a 501(c)3 organization and an accredited land trust, they focus on private lands that connect larger wild strongholds, building lifelines for grizzlies and other animals. Vital Ground completes land purchases and partners with private landowners on conservation agreements for their properties. They also partner with community organizations and agencies to prevent conflicts between bears and people.
Since the organization’s founding, Vital Ground has helped protect and enhance more than 1 million acres of habitat.
Atira Conservation has partnered with Vital Ground on several projects:
- The 4,482-acre Teton River ALE property, which 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 Clark Creek Conservation Easement, a 160-acre property west of Lolo, Montana, on the northern edge of the Bitterroot Mountains. This is prime grizzly bear habitat in a key regional wildlife corridor in Montana.
- Wild River Phase V, was a 5.5-acre land purchase that ended a proposed subdivision in Montana’s Kootenai River Valley, preserving links between the West Cabinet and Purcell mountain ranges and protecting the connection between two isolated subpopulations of grizzly bears.
- The 100-Acre Wood, in the Kootenai River Valley, between Montana’s northwestern corner and the northernmost reaches of the Idaho Panhandle. This land plays a major role in the conservation of the two smallest groups of grizzlies persisting south of Canada.
