Distinctly Montana Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.distinctlymontana.com/i/20776
significant number of people and organizations involved in protecting and conserving the region’s rich natural and cultural heritage, and pres- ents options for sustaining its natural and human systems in the face of ever-changing regional and global forces. The conference attracted over 200 people to Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta with the explicit goal to con- nect people and communities with one other, share informa- tion and resources, build rela- tionships, and explore shared challenges and opportuni- ties. More than any program, speaker, or networking op- portunity, it was the landscape itself—through the stories of Andy, Wayne, Rhonda, and others—that provided the impetus for new relationships and connections. THE CROWN OF THE CONTINENT IS A REMARKABLE REGION hunt, fish, and gather plants for food and fiber here. In the late 1890s, the editor of Forest and Stream maga- zine, George Bird Grinnell, and others lobbied Congress to establish a national park south of the Canadian border. In a series of articles, Grinnell referred to the region as the “Crown of the Continent;” the Blackfeet already called it the “Backbone of the World.” CONNECTING PEOPLE AND THE LANDSCAPE Connecting communities WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF THE BACKBONE OF THE AMERICAS? The 18-million-acre Crown of the Continent is a rare and special place, an ecological crossroads where plant and animal communities from the Pacific Northwest, eastern prairies, southern Rockies, and boreal forests mingle. This spine of uplifted and glacier-carved mountains is also the headwaters for North America, where pristine riv- ers originate and flow to the Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Hudson Bay. Nowhere else on the continent retains its full complement of native habitat and native preda- tors—wolves, grizzly and black bears, cougar, coyote, fox, wolverine, bobcat, and lynx—as well as large populations of moose, elk, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, and deer. The Crown is also a place where nations and cultures meet. Humans have traveled through the Crown of the Continent since the last great ice sheets retreated about 11,500 years ago. Ancestors of the Blackfeet, Kainaiwa, Ktu- naxa, Salish, and Kootenai peoples were among the first to of people throughout the Crown of the Continent can create synergies among efforts that enhance each effort indi- vidually. For example, there are many landscape dynamics that require engagement at the local level and coordina- tion within the region. The Remarkable Beyond Borders report provides a brief over- view of five such challenges: (1) adapting to a changing cli- mate; (2) managing water re- sources; (3) protecting critical wildlife habitat and corridors; (4) shaping regional economic conditions while responding to global influences; (5) and guiding growth and develop- ment. Understanding these issues and addressing them in the context of shared goals, as well as individual places, is necessary. Lessons can be shared between groups of people that can assist in reaching goals. One can look at emerging strategies in the Crown of the Continent as a combination of local efforts, to groups working together at the watershed scale, to those that are coordinated throughout the region and beyond. These nested approaches represent a natural foundation for sharing knowledge, practices, and commitments to shared values. Under those conditions, a unified voice emerges organically by people with common interests and visions, sharing ideas, information, and working together. www.distinctlymontana.com 25