Projects
We fund a variety of projects annually from a number of sources including private donors, grants from foundations and income from our endowments.
Trust management fees which we receive as the trust manager for the Montana Fish and Wildlife Conservation Trust are also used to fund our programs and projects.
Bats
Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks is undertaking a new bat research project to answer important questions about bats and their use of beetle kill timber and logged timber stands.
Grizzly Bear Recovery
The Foundation’s support for the implementation of the FWP Statewide Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan focuses on the prevention and management of bear / human conflicts and on increasing the public tolerance for having grizzly bears on the landscape.
Grizzly Bear Recovery Project
The state of Montana is a stronghold for grizzly bears – with very healthy grizzly bear populations in the northwestern part of the state (the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem) and in the southwest (the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem). Montana’s Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department (FWP) has developed a statewide grizzly bear recovery program that identifies the need for connectivity between these two healthy populations as critical to the full recovery of the grizzly bear in Montana. A critical challenge in establishing this important connectivity is managing the potential for bear / human conflicts as grizzly bears begin to expand their populations outside of the large expanses of federal lands where they currently reside.
Harlequin Duck
Not unlike Montana’s famed trout, one of montana’s most unique waterfowl species, the harlequin duck, requires clear, fast-moving mountain streams for its breeding season and forage.
Invasive Species Fund
From invasive weeds to invasive mussels, we simply have to fund the preventive measures, research and maintenance that it takes to keep Montana void of these invasive species. Currently, the mussel is of great concern. It has reached Montana and we need to fund check points, the K9 program and education to stop the mussel movement in its tracks.
Montana WILD
Montana WILD is FWP’s conservation education center. The Center is located on the west side of Helena adjacent to the popular Spring Meadow Lake State Park.
MT Fish & Wildlife Conservation Trust
Expanding opportunities for public access across the state is critical. Equally important is maintaining public access to Montana’s 30 million acres of public lands. The Montana Fish & Wildlife Conservation Trust was created in 2000 for the primary purpose of providing public access for hunting, fishing and other outdoor related activities. Montana’s Outdoor Legacy Foundation is the Manager of the Trust.
Raptor Monitoring and Citizen Science
Research is needed to identify Golden, Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon populations and nesting sites throughout the state. Aerial surveys and citizen science programs are critical to this research.
Southwest Montana Bear Education, Outreach, Prevention
Southwest Montana’s bear education program has been a huge success; so much so that it cannot meet the demand it faces to help educate schools and the community for bear and human safety.
Wetland Conservation
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks supports the conservation of Montana’s wetlands through their Migratory Bird Wetland Conservation Program. The primary funding source for this important program has been the revenue generated through the sale of Migratory Bird Hunting License. Projects are identified and funding utilizing the Wetlands Protection Advisory Council (established by the Legislature in 1985).
To learn more about the Montana Migratory Bird Wetland Conservation Program, click here.
Wolverine Connectivity
The southernmost reach for wolverine populations in North America occurs in small, semi-isolated subpopulations in the Rocky Mountains of Montana, Idaho and northwest Wyoming, the North Cascade Range of Washington and the Wallowa Mountains of Oregon.
