At the narrow waist of the Rocky Mountains, where Alberta, British Columbia and Montana meet, sprawls one of the wildest, most diverse and intact ecosystems in the temperate zones of the world. Glacier National Park sits in the middle of 18 million acres of pristine wilderness and protects the headwaters of three continental river systems.
The term “Crown of the Continent” was coined by George Bird Grinnell in the 1890s and is largely defined by the habitat needs of diverse vegetation and wide-ranging wildlife that thrive here, like the grizzly bear, wolverine, wolf and bull trout.
Management strategies for disturbances such as fire and invasive plants will need to adapt to the context of climate change pressures and reach much further outside of Glacier National Park. Engaging the support of neighbors and partners throughout the Crown of the Continent is critical as the park seeks solutions to these complex issues.
This project funds a variety of projects important to the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park including the planning for the next Hands Across Borders workshop in 2019, and follow-up work from last year’s workshop, and a traveling exhibit on art inspired by the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park hosted by the Hockaday Museum in Kalispell. The Goat Haunt Visitor Center sits on the border of the United States and Canada and welcomes visitors to and from Glacier National Park and Waterton Lakes National Park.
Additionally, landscape-scale work with the Crown of the Continent partners will involve providing matching funds for a Crown Manager’s Partnership Forum on wildfire and/ or carnivore connectivity, native community engagement for the Roundtable on the Crown of the Continent, and providing assistance in working with partners on the transboundary Iinnii Initiative.
