The High Divide Collaborative is an effective partnership of public land managers, state wildlife agencies, landowners, local community leaders, scientists, and conservation groups working together to conserve and restore lands of importance for local communities and to protect ecological integrity at the landscape scale.
The High Divide is often referred to as the “land in between” two of the West’s iconic landscapes: the Greater Yellowstone and the Crown of the Continent. Its western border straddles the Continental Divide along the Idaho/Montana border, housing headwaters for the great Missouri and Columbia watersheds that flow to opposite oceans. Over 3.7 million acres total, the region a stronghold for wildlife that have disappeared from much of their historic range and is the centerpiece for connectivity between the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the Crown of the Continent, and the great wilderness of Central Idaho.
The High Divide Collaborative’s area of interest is determined by the stakeholders involved in the partnership. This area is a subset of the full High Divide landscape and it brings in some parts of adjacent landscapes, like the GYE, Crown of the Continent, and the central Idaho. Our interest in cultural and ecological connectivity necessarily bleeds into these adjacent systems as we envision our conservation future for the High Divide.
Our map of the High Divide Collaborative Area of Interest is defined loosely as the geography within which we have a high level of engagement among High Divide stakeholders. The area features a great deal of commonality in cultural and resource values and social connections.
