During the summer of 2023, GYC assisted with a study using trail cameras to better understand grizzly bear and livestock interactions in the Gravelly Range of southwest Montana. After snapping images for almost five months, the trail cameras were collected in October and GYC staff discovered the incredible range of wildlife that call these mountains home.

GYC’s work in southwest Montana exemplifies the wide range of strategies we deploy to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. From buying gold mines, to working with ranchers to protect grizzly bears, and supporting programs to restore bison, we work with all people to find common ground and develop innovative solutions to protect this ecosystem we all love. Join GYC’s Conservation Director Craig Benjamin on an epic road trip across southwest Montana as he visits the incredible places we work in and people we work alongside to protect this corner of the ecosystem now and for future generations.

The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is remarkable and needs protection for generations to come. Hear the story of one team member’s journey to this special landscape and what compelled her to stay and make a difference.

A recap of GYC’s 2021 successes.

The Ruby Valley Strategic Alliance annual field tour brings together partners to discuss conservation in this corner of Greater Yellowstone.

GYC sponsors a rider safety workshop for livestock management in grizzly country.

Thirty people gathered in Alder, Montana to kick off the annual Ruby Valley Strategic Alliance (RVSA) Field Tour. The objective of the tour was to educate participants about the relationship between private and public lands and the role ranchers play to conserve it.

Spring is here and the frigid winter we all endured in Montana is fading into the distance. We spent one of those days where the cold just hurt with our friend and colleague Neil Barnosky on his cattle ranch outside of Sheridan, Montana.

The Greater Yellowstone Coalition is committed to visiting with the ranchers of the Ruby Valley to hear their stories, focusing on their livestock and carnivore encounters. While we know that grizzlies are expanding and ranchers are in their path, we don’t know what’s happening on the ground. Montana Conservation Coordinator Darcie Warden and I are leading the charge to lend an ear and learn about what ranchers and their employees need to live and thrive on the landscape with grizzly bears.

On a smoky August 24, over 40 people met at the Madison County fairgrounds to tour ranches in Montana’s Ruby Valley and learn how ranchers are taking care of their land for future generations. The focus was on the important connection between private and public lands to meet our shared conservation goals.