The SCA is involved in several projects which directly aid our endangered species. In particular, we help the small remaining populations of grizzly bears and caribou, unique to the Selkirk ecosystem.
Grizzly Bears
Grizzly bears originally ranged throughout most of western North America, but began disappearing from many western states to where only a few hundred grizzly bears remained south of Canada, by the 1970’s. The grizzly bear was federally listed as a threatened species in 1975. Today, their population is confined to less than two percent of their range, which is represented in six population centers south of Canada. This includes the Yellowstone, Northern Continental Divide, Cabinet-Yaak, North Cascades, Bitterroot, and Selkirk recovery zones.
South Selkirk Mountain Caribou
Historically, within the lower 48 states, woodland caribou were once distributed from central Washington State to Glacier National Park in Montana and south to Salmon River. Additionally caribou were found within the Great Lake States and New England States such as Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. It is not know how many caribou were found within what are now the lower 48 states, but it is likely the numbers were in the thousands. As of the 2017 census, the Selkirk Mountain herd had declined to 11 individuals. Please consider joining our work collecting arboreal lichens or attending the Kalispel Tribe’s fund raiser on March 3, 2018 in Spokane, WA to raise funds for caribou recovery.