The Cabinet-Purcell Mountain Corridor (CPMC) is one of only two remaining areas in the Yellowstone to Yukon region where grizzly bears can move back and forth between Canada and the US (the other is the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem). This Priority Area, covering more than 43,750 square miles (70,000 square kilometre) and representing approximately 20 percent of the entire Y2Y region, extends from Missoula, Montana to north of Golden, British Columbia, and encompasses the Purcell, Cabinet, Selkirk, and the Bitterroot mountain ranges.
The CPMC landscape serves as a critical linkage zone to reconnect grizzly bear populations in Canada, northern Idaho, and Montana, through central Idaho, with the isolated bear population in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Restoring bears to central Idaho is an essential step toward reconnecting the isolated grizzly bear population in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, just to the east of Central Idaho Complex, with bear populations in the Canadian Rockies and in the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem (centered on Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park).
A large management area exists in the northern portion of the Cabinet-Purcells, but otherwise there is little protected land. The region's four grizzly bear population units live in close proximity to human settlements, which means successful coexistence of humans and bears is vital. The immediate goals for the area are to stabilize the smaller population of bears, and to maintain the relative stability of the larger population.
For information on collaborative projects in the Cabinet-Purcell Mountain Corridor Priority Area click here.
Click here to watch a brief documentary about a proposed ski resort that threatens the Jumbo Valley in the Purcell Mountains.