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Imperiled Ecosystems
Several of Montana’s ecosystems are under serious threat. For example, the Cabinet-Yaak Ecosystem in Northwestern Montana harbors a tiny remnant grizzly bear population, as well as bull trout which have recently been protected under the Endangered Species Act. In addition, the wildlands in the Cabinet-Yaak are crucial migratory corridors for any number of native North American species. State and federal agencies can and must do more to protect and restore these ecologically rich but imperiled ecosystems through public education about their value, through preventing short term, highly destructive development projects such as the Rock Creek and Montanore Mines, and by providing for migration corridors for wildlife to other ecosystems that will insure their long term viability of wildlife populations.
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Photo by Phil Knight |
The vast green forests of the Bitterroot Mountains along the Continental Divide, one of the last stands for truly wild forests. Roadless lands like these are threatened by political compromises which would open them up to logging and road building, degrading the integrity of a wild, functioning ecosystem. |
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