The Crown of the Continent Ecosystem is one of only two remaining areas within the Yellowstone to Yukon region where grizzly bears and other wide-ranging species can move back and forth between Canada and the US (the other is the Cabinet-Purcell Mountain Corridor).
This Priority Area, covering more than 16,000 square miles (42,000 square kilometers) and representing approximately 10 percent of the entire Y2Y region, extends from the Bob Marshall wilderness complex in Montana to the Highwood River in Alberta and Elk Valley in B.C., and encompasses the shared Rocky Mountain range of Montana, British Columbia, and Alberta.
The Crown of the Continent is arguably the most ecologically intact region in the southern portion of Y2Y. The protected areas complex centering on
Waterton Glacier
International
Peace
Park (which straddles the US-Canadian border) is critical for maintaining high-quality, secure habitat for grizzlies. Existence of these protected areas is the main reason that the Crown of the Continent has more grizzly bears than any other place in the lower 48 states. Outside of these protected zones, however, grizzlies and other wildlife are under threat from increasing urbanization, poorly managed recreation activities, extractive industries such as coal mining, and high human-caused wildlife mortality.
Y2Y is working collaboratively with a wide range of partners in the Crown of the Continent to secure the ecological health of the area and to enable the Crown to fulfill its dual role within the Yellowstone to Yukon region – securing high-quality wildlife habitat, and enabling wide-ranging species to move from those areas into neighboring Priority Areas, including the Cabinet-Purcell Mountain Corridor and Central Idaho Complex. Y2Y’s partners in the Crown include scientists, government agencies, industry, First Nations communities, and non-governmental organizations.
For information on collaborative projects in the Crown of the Continent Priority Area click here.
SAVE BC'S FLATHEAD RIVER VALLEY
Click for Summer 2008 Partner Newsletter