Missoula, MT – In a significant step toward enhancing grizzly bear migration in Montana’s Bitterroot Mountains, Vital Ground, a Missoula-based nonprofit, announced this week that it has secured a permanent conservation easement on 160 acres of land in the Clark Creek basin, located west of Lolo. The move is part of an ongoing effort to establish critical wildlife corridors, vital for the natural movement of grizzly bears and other species, as the region’s wildlife faces increasing pressures from development and human activity.
The newly protected land borders U.S. Forest Service property and is situated near U.S. Highway 12, a key route for wildlife migration through the Bitterroot-Selway Wilderness. It also connects to public lands extending north through the Grave Creek Range and towards Interstate 90. According to Mitch Doherty, conservation director at Vital Ground, the easement’s location makes it an ideal spot to preserve wildlife movement, particularly for grizzly bears moving southward from northern recovery areas.
“This land is a critical link in the migration route for grizzly bears,” Doherty said. “It helps ensure that bears can move naturally between recovery areas, which is essential for their long-term survival in the region.”
The conservation easement was made possible after the landowners, who wish to remain anonymous, approached Vital Ground about a year ago with the goal of preserving their property for wildlife. The landowners expressed their commitment to wildlife conservation, noting that the Clark Creek basin is a prime habitat for numerous species, including grizzly bears, black bears, elk, mule deer, wolves, and mountain lions.
“It’s a real thrill for us to do this,” the landowners said in a press release. “Wildlife is very important to us, and we’ve always wanted to put a conservation easement on this property. We saw it as an important piece of the puzzle for grizzly bear migration.”
Vital Ground’s conservation efforts in the area are part of a broader strategy to protect wildlife corridors in the Northern Rockies. In 2018, the nonprofit purchased 50 acres at the Ninemile confluence to support wildlife movement, and it has been actively involved in a project to create a wildlife highway crossing in the Ninemile drainage. Doherty believes that if grizzly bears can successfully migrate south through the Ninemile area, they will eventually reach the Clark Creek drainage, further strengthening the corridor connecting them to the Bitterroots.
Jamie Jonkel, a bear biologist with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, emphasized the importance of preserving such areas for grizzly bear movement. “Bears have already shown how crucial the Clark Creek drainage is for their north-south migration,” Jonkel said. “It’s an intact area with good connectivity, and preserving this land is key to ensuring that grizzlies can continue to move freely between habitats.”
The easement also aligns with ongoing efforts by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to recover the grizzly bear population in the Bitterroot ecosystem. USFWS is developing an environmental impact statement on grizzly bear recovery, set to be released in June. According to Hilary Cooley, the agency’s grizzly bear recovery coordinator, the preferred recovery method is natural migration, which underscores the growing need to protect habitat corridors like the one secured in Clark Creek.
The funding for the easement came from a combination of sources, including the landowners themselves, Atira Conservation, First Interstate Bank, and individual donors. The easement protects a riparian area with spring-fed flows, which is used by a variety of species, including black bears in the summer and deer, elk, and even wolves year-round. The landowners have committed to continuing stewardship of the property to support the wildlife that depend on it.
The Clark Creek easement is a key addition to Vital Ground’s One Landscape Initiative, a conservation strategy aimed at protecting the most important private lands that connect public lands across the Northern Rockies. As human development rapidly expands in Montana, Doherty said it is more important than ever to safeguard these vital land connections.
“These private lands are the pieces of the puzzle that allow wildlife to move between larger public land areas,” Doherty said. “As the region continues to grow, it’s essential that we preserve these linkages for future generations of wildlife.”
Vital Ground has already completed similar conservation projects in the area, including an easement at Evaro Canyon this fall, and plans to continue helping landowners secure easements in the Clark Creek region. By preserving these corridors, the nonprofit aims to ensure that the grizzly bear population in the Bitterroot ecosystem can thrive and grow, helping to restore a vital part of Montana’s natural heritage.
