There remains a place in the lower 48 where wildlife present since the end of the last Ice Age still exists. Nestled in the Kootenai National Forest, in the extreme northwest corner of Montana, lies the Yaak Valley. The Yaak Valley's low elevation and high precipitation result in a climate described as "modified Pacific maritime" in character. Large larch, cedar, hemlock, spruce, Douglas, grand and alpine fir, ponderosa, lodgepole and whitepine fill the landscape. This forest is home for an abundance of wildlife. It is also a vital link in the chain of wildlands that sweep north into Canada. Inhabitants include grizzly bears, wolves, lynx, mountain lions, wolverine, marten, fisher, mountain goats, great gray owls, bull trout, westslope cutthroat trout and  inland redband trout. Nothing has yet gone extinct here - a testament to the Yaak Valley's strength and resiliency. But not a single acre of the Yaak Valley is permanently protected. To view a map of the Yaak click here.

Yaak Valley, Kootenai National Forest. Purcell Mountains in Northwest Montana
© Randy Beacham

The Yaak Valley is located at the southern terminus of the Purcell Mountain Range in northwest Montana. The Yaak Valley is a critical ecosystem in numerous ways, including but not limited to the following:

• Biological Diversity - The Yaak ecosystem is the northern geographical transition zone between the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountains, affording the valley a diverse blend of both ecotone habitat types (i.e., forest landscapes ranging from inland temperate rainforest to drier Northern Rockies);
• Grizzly Bear Recovery - The Yaak Valley is one of only six grizzly bear recovery areas in the lower forty-eight states, and has a moderate level of scientifically documented grizzly bear activity. With estimates of only 15-30 grizzly bears remaining, the Cabinet/Yaak Grizzly Bear Recovery Area contains the lowest elevation grizzly population, as well as the most imperiled population, in North America.
• Other Rare Species - Other sensitive, threatened, and endangered species occur in the ecosystem, which include, but are not limited to lynx, wolves, pine martens, wolverines, elk, moose, golden and bald eagles, as well as several sensitive fish and plant species.  From a fisheries perspective, barrier falls prevent hybridization of genetically pure native trout, which allows strong populations of wild native trout to persist in the watershed on both the US side as well as British Columbia to the north;
• The Big Picture - On a broader level, the Yaak Valley provides essential regional core habitat linkage possibilities essential to larger transboundary programs such as those led by Y2Y, American Wildlands, as well as US Fish and Wildlife Service.  The Yaak is considered by many conservation biologists to be key habitat for grizzly bear recovery in regards to providing linkage to other core recovery areas in all directions, including the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (includes Glacier/Bob Marshal populations), Selkirk Ecosystem (North Idaho) and the population in eastern and central Washington, as well as the Bitteroot Recovery Area and the larger grizzly populations in southern British Columbia;
• Roadless Areas - Core habitat still exist today (roadless areas total approximately 180,000 acres);
• Federal Jurisdiction - The Yaak Valley is 97% public land, managed by USFS.  This, a double-edged sword.  The benefit of this is that excessive commercial development and dramatic increases in human population is prevented; however, resource management activity continues to degrade habitat by road building and overharvesting the forest.