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The Nature Conservancy in Africa - Conservation in Africa

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Pryor-Beartooth

The Pryor-Beartooth site is a landscape of extremes. Throughout the area there is a cumulative elevation change of nearly 18,000 feet. Precipitation levels are equally abrupt, ranging from over 60 inches to less than six inches annually. Combine these with an extremely complex geology with both the world’s oldest and youngest rocks, and the result is one of the most biologically diverse regions of the intermountain west. Within this 500,000-acre site there are 51 species and communities of special concern being tracked by the Montana and Wyoming Natural Heritage Programs. Of these, 14 rare plant communities and eight plant species are considered vulnerable.

This site also supports many animal species of regional and national significance, including the grizzly bear, white-tailed prairie dog, dwarf shrew, Merriam’s shrew, Uinta chipmunk, peregrine falcon, burrowing owl, blue-gray gnatcatcher, Townsend’s big-eared bat, spotted bat and pallid bat. The site is located on the eastern fringe of the gray wolf’s breeding range.

The Pryor-Beartooth area is still an intact landscape that encompasses a broad scope of environments, plant communities and species. However, negative impacts to the land species are many: alien species; habitat fragmentation and land conversion; roading; inappropriate grazing management; and alteration of fire regimes and other natural processes. Impacts on this fragile and undisturbed alpine environment would be difficult to recover and affect the biological integrity of the area significantly.

We believe that protection efforts should originate from core protected public lands as the most effective means for the Conservancy and its partners to protect viable species and communities in the Pryor-Beartooth. The establishment of large protection corridors on privately owned lands between these core areas is also important. Partnerships formed with state and federal agencies along with tribal entities will best serve public land protection goals. At the same time, the Conservancy will work with private landowners by providing incentives for conservation on these critical linkage lands.