Getting Wild with Jim!
This is a new, recurring column with fellow Heart of the Rockies Partnerships Manager Jim Williams.
Jim will be writing stories on Montana wildlife from his many years in the field and working for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
High Divide Collaborative 2023 update
The High Divide Collaborative has been busy planning events, making maps, and supporting partners through carnivore conflict reduction work and applying for federal funds. For a full update, read our blog post here.
Partner News and Stories
High Divide Remains a High Priority in Idaho
New science shows that migration patterns are shifting across the West as the changing climate forces wildlife to adapt. Intact and functional landscapes like the High Divide offer critically important terrestrial and aquatic connectivity and are vitally important for maintaining wildlife abundance and biodiversity in the face of climate change. A new article from Idaho Conservation League highlights the region. Read it here.
Upper Snake River Tribes Foundation Climate Adaptation Planning and Strategy Development
USRT is creating a Climate Adaptation Planning and Strategy Development project through a collaborative process between USRT’s four tribes’ leaders and members, USRT staff, and Adaptation International. The plan covers the majority of Idaho and includes all watersheds and wetlands within the Upper Snake River Watershed. The plan will support development of adaptation strategies for species, ecosystems, and water resources within the region. Visit the USRT’s website for more information.
Watershed Restoration Coalition's Implementation of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program
The Watershed Restoration Coalition of the Upper Clark Fork (WRC) is a nonprofit organization founded in Deer Lodge in 1999 with membership from conservation districts, local governments, and landowners. WRC is a primary contractor to the Montana Natural Resource Damage Program (NRDP) for oversight of restoration of priority tributaries and terrestrial areas in the Upper Clark Fork River Basin.
This year, the WRC is partnering with the USDA Farm Service Agency and the NRDP in implementing a voluntary Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) to enroll up to 66,400 acres in the upper Clark Fork River Basin. The CREP is intended to improve water quality, reduce soil erosion, reduce the amount of sediment, phosphorous, and other pollutants entering waterbodies, restore wetlands, maintain and enhance grasslands on uplands associated with adjacent riparian areas and create and improve habitat for terrestrial and aquatic wildlife.