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Rocky Mountain Region Office
303 West Mendenhall, Suite 3
Bozeman, MT 59715
Fax: (406) 587-0216
Defenders of Wildlife keeps wildlife in the western life by restoring abundant wildlife populations throughout the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains, prioritizing imperiled keystone species and advancing conservation of all native animals and plants through practical policies and practices and public support.
Defenders' Rocky Mountain Region Office works in 12 states and 2 provinces (MT, ID, WY, UT, CO, ND, SD, NE, KS, Alberta, and parts of WA, OR, NV, and BC), serving as a coordinating “hub” for our field offices throughout the region (Boise, Missoula, Canmore, Alberta, and Denver).
Key Projects:
Top Predators:
Wolves: Will wolves resume their important role as the west's top predator, or will human intolerance reduce them to merely token levels? More >>
Grizzly Bears: Only 5 largely isolated populations of the largest land predator in the world remain in the continental U.S. Sustaining, expanding, and connecting these populations are the keys to their survival. More >>
Mid-level Forest Predators:
Wolverines: The lower-48 wolverine population has been reduced to fewer than 50 successfully breeding individuals. Climate change adds to the challenges faced by this largest member of the weasel family because of its dependence on persistent spring snowpack for dens to shelter its young. More >>
Lynx: Huge feet allow this gorgeous wildcat to survive winter in style, but before they have recovered from past over-trapping they are suddenly faced with a new threat: climate change. More >>
Fisher: Perhaps the least-known and rarest predator in the Rockies, these beautiful old-growth-dependent weasels have been reduced and fragmented to perilously low numbers in the Northern Rockies. More >>
Prairie Wildlife:
Black-tailed Prairie Dog: Prairie dogs are a keystone animal in the prairie ecosystem, the food source or habitat creator for many other grassland species. Due to poisoning, shooting, habitat loss and disease they have been reduced to less than 2% of their historic numbers. More >>
Black-footed Ferret: Twice thought to be extinct, only 18 black-footed ferrets remained by 1986. They formed the basis of a successful captive breeding and reintroduction program. Black-footed ferrets remain highly endangered however thanks to ongoing destruction of their prey – prairie dogs. More >>
Swift Fox: The once-numerous swift fox was trapped to very low numbers in the 1800s, completely disappearing from the northern Plains. Swift fox are slowly recovering with much support from tribal wildlife agencies and others. More >>
Hoofed Mammals (Ungulates):
Bison: The "unrecovered ungulate", bison are the only major herbivore in the U.S. that has not been restored, in spite of once being the most numerous, and the symbol of the American West. More >>
Woodland Caribou: As few as 3 woodland caribou remain in the United States. More >>
Elk: Poor management practices such as artificial feeding threaten elk and other wildlife with disease and domestication. More >>
Habitat Conservation
A Connected Network of Conservation Lands: Defenders works toward a connected network of lands managed for conservation purposes sufficient to maintain North America's biological heritage. More >>
Climate Change: Many well-known western wildlife species are threatened by changing climate conditions, including wolverines that raise their young in snow dens and trout that depend on snowmelt. More >>
Canadian Wildlife and Habitat Conservation: Wolves, grizzlies, and other species face many of the same threats in western Canada as in the western U.S., with some species like grizzlies worse off in southern Alberta than in the states for example, but lack a strong legal system to protect them . More >>
Staff:
Erin Edge, Bear Aware Coordinator (Missoula, MT)
David Gaillard, Northern Rockies Representative (Bozeman, MT)
Michael T. Leahy, Rocky Mountain Region Director (Bozeman, MT)
James Pissot, Canada Program Director (Canmore, Alberta)
Jonathan Proctor, Rocky Mountain Region Representative (Missoula, MT)
Suzanne Asha Stone, Northern Rockies Representative (Boise, ID)
Jesse Timberlake, Northern Rockies Associate (Boise, ID)
