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The Nature Conservancy in Africa - Conservation in Africa

The Nature Conservancy in Asia Pacific - Conservation in Asia-Pacific

The Nature Conservancy in the Caribbean - Conservation in the Caribbean

The Nature Conservancy in Central America - Conservation in Central America

The Nature Conservancy in North America - Conservation in North America

The Nature Conservancy in the United States - Conservation in the United States

The Nature Conservancy in South America - Conservation in South America

Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

A sunset in the Centennial Valley
Centennial Valley sunset
© Jim Steinberg

Why the Conservancy Selected This Site

This region encompasses the world's most unique and irreplaceable patchwork of lands that provides migration corridors and winter range for elk, bison, and pronghorn antelope. The GYE also presents the opportunity to sustain predator prey relationships in balance with the prosperity of local communities and achieve transformational conservation results.

Threats
Rapid development here is threatening ranching, destroying wildlife habitat, disrupting wildlife migrations and compromising natural processes such as fire.

Animals
This region is one of the few places in the Lower 48 where visitors can still encounter the full complement of large, wild mammals. The Greater Yellowstone has the world's largest elk herd,the world's largest free-roaming bison herd and the world's greatest concentration of bighorn sheep. Grizzlies, wolves and the secretive and rarely seen wolverine and lynx are also found here.

Our Conservation Strategy
The Conservancy's goal is to collaborate with landowners, conservation groups and the many stakeholders using a science-based, non-confrontational approach to protecting the most ecologically important lands in this incomparable region. Our approach is to support voluntary, private land conservation of important wildlife habitat. Conservation easements, land acquisition, stewardship agreements, grassbanks, prescribed fires and weed districts are a few of the tools the Conservancy and its partners use to protect this region's natural heritage.

What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing

The Conservancy programs in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming are working together to build partnerships and enhance the profile of the conservation needs in this region. Previously each program has worked separately throughout the region to conserve over 260,000 acres of private lands. In Montana, the Conservancy has focused on the western spoke of the Greater Yellowstone, the Centennial Valley, where it has worked with ranchers, the Fish and Wildlife Service and others on conservation easements, weed management and a variety of stewardship and research efforts. The Montana program is also working with partners to conserve the natural functioning of the Yellowstone River, particularly the lower reaches.