In this Great Grizzly issue of Bare Essentials we explore the pristine wilderness of Knight Inlet a bears backyard where orca transients surface meters from a floating lodge and bald eagles soar the open skies to a backdrop of snowcapped mountains. Revealing Earths Diversity this cove is filled with curious critters and colorful characters. This feature speaks to the natural instincts and wild spirit within us all.
Click here to Subscribe and below for a sneak peak!

Founded 40 years ago, Earth Day has always been about celebrating the rich natural heritage we envision leaving to children and grandchildren.

Sadly, subdivision, commercial development, resource extraction, and growing human population demands continue to speed destruction of the last vital acres of habitat needed for the grizzly and other wildlife to disperse, migrate, forage, and have the elbow room they need to adapt to climate change.

Now more than at any time in history, habitat conservation — especially on key private lands — is an ecological imperative.

But as concerns rise regarding the adverse impacts of growth on the long-term integrity of habitat and wildlife, Vital Ground is on the job.

In fact, since Vital Ground’s founding in 1990, they have helped to protect and enhance more than 604,000 acres of habitat crucial to our icon animal, the mighty grizzly bear, and countless other species of plant- and animal life.

In celebration of the planet we all call home, Vital Ground encourage you to make a special contribution to their Strength of Connections Campaign — a campaign intended to protect key grizzly habitat and wildlife linkage lands in northwestern Montana and northern Idaho.

With your gift of $50 or more, you will receive a free Vital Ground logo water bottle (20 oz.) and with a gift of any size, you get a free Vital Ground 20th anniversary decal (measures 7 ½ x 3 ¾ in.).Offer valid through midnight Friday April 23, 2010.

Celebrate conservation and consider making a special Earth Day contribution to Vital Ground helping them continue to increase the pace, quality and permanence of conservation in areas critical to the Great Bear.

The intrepid explorations of wildlife journalists and photographers captive the imagination and inspire many of us to consider an adventure of our own. Want to experience nature and wildlife up close, immerse yourself in the raw energy and amazing beauty of unspoilt lands?

For those National Geographic fans and creature seekers Vital Ground are hosting two tours to beautiful Knight Inlet, British Columbia in 2010. One of the premier viewing areas in North America for bears and other wildlife—all set amidst the dramatic snow-capped peaks of Canada’s rugged western coastline.

The eco-tour includes guided field trips with nature experts that are passionate about preservation and who are happy to pass on their knowledge for an ‘exciting educational experience’ you won’t forget.

Good for Grizzlies: best of all this tour benefits the bears as proceeds are put towards the preservation efforts of Vital Ground, learn more here.

Knight Inlet Lodge, a founding member of the Commercial Bear Viewing Association of British Columbia, will provide accommodations.

The lodge is unique in that it is a floating complex located in Knight Inlet’s Glendale Cove. The remote location means that beautiful scenery and spectacular wildlife viewing are right outside your door.

Learn about itineraries, view photos, read past participant reviews, watch a promotional video, and secure your reservation online now by clicking below!

Spring trip: May 15-21, 2010
Fall trip: October 13-17, 2010

Our trips sell out very quickly, so we encourage you to book today online or phone us directly at 406-549-8650.

Watch a new Wild Bear Adventure promotional video on YouTube here.
Watch a video provided by Knight Inlet Lodge here.
Read accounts from previous Wild Bear Adventures here.

Expanding passages of preservation through responsible land management and easement acquisition secures habitat for the Bears of Bismark!

The Vital Ground Foundation announced today that it has acquired 57 acres of crucial grizzly bear habitat at North Idaho’s Bismark Meadows.

Located just west of Priest Lake, Bismark Meadows is an 1,100-acre complex of meadows and wetlands that features a dramatic array of rare flora and fauna.

It supports several endangered plant species and provides habitat for moose, elk, deer, black bear, wolves, lynx, westslope cutthroat trout, and eagles, as well as the threatened Selkirk Mountains grizzly population. The project area lies within the Selkirk Grizzly Bear Recovery Zone as delineated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The project protects nearly one quarter mile of Reeder Creek and complements two other projects completed by the organization in 2005 and 2008. The transaction was structured as a bargain sale, with the seller donating a significant portion of the parcel’s value. Vital Ground’s three projects permanently protect more than 160 acres of high value seasonal habitat for grizzlies and other wildlife in an area experiencing mounting development pressures. Efforts at Bismark Meadows fall under the organization’s Selkirk Grizzly Bear Habitat Conservation Initiative, which is designed to help bolster the struggling Selkirk grizzly population by collaborating with private landowners to secure conservation easements and strategic habitat acquisitions.

Research by state and federal agencies indicates that only 50-60 grizzlies persist in the entire 2,200 square mile Selkirk Mountain Ecosystem, which includes portions of northern Idaho, northeastern Washington, and southern British Columbia. Significantly, a senior conservation officer with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game suggests that at least four and as many as eight Selkirk grizzlies have been using Bismark Meadows for foraging habitat during recent spring seasons, including a sow with two cubs and a large boar that were observed in 2009.

“The greatest threat to wildlife today is human intrusion into their habitat,” states Gary Wolfe, Vital Ground’s executive director. “Our conservation projects in Bismark Meadows provide an increasingly rare wild refuge for imperiled animals and plants in a growing sea of development.”

As the surrounding Selkirk Mountains are often snowbound until early June, grizzlies must seek food in lower elevations when they emerge from hibernation. “This makes the meadowlands vitally important for the bears,” Wolfe says. “Without continued access to these and other low elevation food sources in spring and again in autumn, the Selkirk population may fail.”

Vital Ground’s recent project was partially funded by a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation via the Northwest Wildlife Conservation Initiative. NWCI was formed in response to a $7 million, three-year matching grant to The Nature Conservancy from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation to protect critical lands in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. Additional support was provided by the Richard K. & Shirley S. Hemingway Foundation, First Interstate Bank, First Interstate BancSystem Foundation, and numerous individual donors.

Since 2008 Vital Ground’s work in the Selkirk region has been funded in part by a grant from the Canmore, Alberta-based Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y). Through its partnership with Y2Y, Vital Ground is contributing to the Grizzly Bear Conservation Strategy, an international effort designed to help strengthen ecosystem connectivity so that grizzlies in the Idaho Panhandle and northwestern Montana can move about safely and intermingle with the more robust populations in Canada.

Vital Ground is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization working to protect and restore North America’s grizzly bear populations by conserving wildlife habitat. Operating as a land trust, the organization cooperates with private landowners, local communities, state and federal agencies, and other NGOs to protect wildlife habitat resources throughout the northern Rockies.

Since its founding in 1990, Vital Ground has helped to protect and enhance more than 604,000 acres of habitat crucial to grizzly and other wildlife in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Alaska, and British Columbia. For more information, phone 406-549-8650 or visit the website.

If you would like to make a contribution toward future Bismark Meadows projects, click here!