Click on the links below to explore the natural history of the Northern Rockies.

A Bighorn Sheep in Montana. Photo by Fred Stillings.

he Northern Rockies landscape contains some of the wildest country remaining in the lower 48 states. While many other regions are trying to restore and recreate landscapes, conservationists in the Northern Rocky Mountains are still trying to protect what remains - vast tracks of wilderness and roadless areas containing all of the species here when Lewis and Clark first explored the region nearly 200 years ago. A full assortment of mammals, birds, and fish continue to grace the mountains, skies, and rivers of the region.

The Northern Rockies encompass the mountains, forests, and valleys of Montana, Idaho, and portions of Wyoming. Much of the area is public land, managed by the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and state agencies. Too see public land statistics for these three states click here. These public lands offer spectacular scenery, high quality fish and wildlife habitat, and recreation, fishing, and hunting opportunities. Visitors from around the world come to visit the geysers of Yellowstone National Park and the spectacular mountain scenery of Glacier National Park. The Northern Rockies contain the headwaters of many of the country’s major rivers: the Columbia, the Missouri, and the Colorado.

Three major ecosystems dominate the Northern Rockies: the Greater Yellowstone, the Northern Continental Divide and the Salmon-Selway. Each provides a refuge for the region’s world-class wildlife. The Greater Yellowstone ecosystem of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana includes Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park and key wilderness and roadless areas surrounding the parks. The Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, along the Continental Divide of northern Montana, includes Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness complex. The Salmon-Selway ecosystem located in Western Montana and Northern Idaho, includes a vast stretch of wildlands, encompassing the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness and thousands of acres of roadless lands.

Between these key ecosystems are unprotected roadless areas, public lands that need to be restored, and growing development of private lands. American Wildlands’ campaigns focus on connecting and restoring the wildlands and the rich natural heritage of the Northern Rockies.