Northern Rockies Loan Fund:
Responding Quickly to Conservation Opportunities
Capitalized by a program-related
investment from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation,
Resources Legacy Fund’s (RLF’s) Northern Rockies Revolving
Loan Fund provides short-term bridge loans to nonprofit
conservation organizations to finance priority acquisitions in
the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), Crown of the
Continent (COC), Idaho Panhandle, and High Divide.
This $5 million loan fund builds on the
significant conservation planning and philanthropic strategy
efforts conducted for these regions by RLF and the Heart of the
Rockies Initiative which identified conservation priorities,
shaped strategies and goals, and developed an unprecedented
collaboration among the land trusts working in these two
important regions. Our interest and investments in this region
reflect our recognition of the importance of protecting the
unparalleled combination of resource values and biodiversity
associated with these regions.
Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Located at the convergence of
Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, GYE’s
(map 1) 26.8 million acres
constitute one of the last largely intact ecosystems in the
northern temperate zone. Located around Yellowstone National
Park and Grand Teton National Park, GYE is internationally
recognized for its geothermal geyser basin, migratory elk herds,
world-class trout fisheries, grizzly bears, and free-ranging
bison. With the reintroduction of the gray wolf in 1995,
representatives of all mammal species present at the time of
European settlement can be found in GYE—a claim that can be made
by no other region in the continental United States.
Crown of the Continent. Located within the provinces of
British Columbia and Alberta and the states of Idaho and
Montana, COC’s
(map 2) 27 million acres
contain a diverse array of nationally and internationally
significant ecological values. The Rocky Mountain Front on the
eastern side of the COC is the only place in North America where
grizzly bears still roam from the mountains to the Great Plains.
The largest uninterrupted wetlands in western North America are
located in COC, at the headwaters of the Columbia River in
British Columbia. At a landscape scale, COC links the Canadian
Rockies with GYE and the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area to
the south.
High
Divide. Located along the Idaho-Montana border, the High
Divide region links the core protected areas in GYE, COC, and
the vast Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness in Idaho. The High Divide
straddles the continental divide along the Centennial Mountains
and includes the Madison and Jefferson rivers, which combine
with the Gallatin River to form the great Missouri River. The
region’s mountains and river valleys provide an important
migration corridor and are home to Montana’s largest
concentration of elk.
Private lands in this area are under
increasing threat of subdivision and development – activities
that fragment wildlife habitat, disrupt ecological processes,
and remove land from agricultural production. With support from
RLF, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and a number of
other private donors, comprehensive conservation planning
efforts led by the Heart of the Rockies Initiative brought
together the land trusts working in these areas to create
conservation plans focused on preserving key private lands.
These conservation plans identify “high-value” private lands in
GYE, COC, and the High Divide as priorities for conservation,
based on criteria of biological and agricultural importance, and
community support for conservation. Comprising most of the
low-elevation lands, valley bottoms, river corridors, and
riparian areas, these private lands provide important migration
corridors and critical winter range, breeding and rearing
habitat, as well as other seasonally important habitat for a
host of wildlife species.
Land trusts working in the region
established ambitious ten-year conservation goals for GYE, COC,
and the High Divide to be achieved by working with private
landowners willing to conserve their lands, primarily through
donated or bargain-purchased conservation easements. Since the
loan fund opened in August 2004, we have approved loans totaling
$14 million supporting the permanent protection of nearly 34,000
acres worth over $25 million. To find out more about the loan
fund’s criteria and procedures, please refer to
For Grantees.
Photograph courtesy of The Nature Conservancy
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