Vital Ground Foundation

A land trust for grizzly bears? It might sound like a strange combination, but the truth is this: bears are just the beginning. From wolverines to loons to wildflowers, the whole natural community benefits from grizzly conservation. Why? Meet Ursus arctos, the grizzly bear, the Rocky Mountains’ largest predator and its barometer of healthy and connected landscapes. Wherever they roam, grizzly bears are monarchs on the land. From the Yellowstone high country to the coasts of British Columbia and Alaska - grizzlies cast broad impacts over the plant and animal communities with which they share space.

Despite their predatory capability, grizzlies are opportunistic omnivores, not carnivores. In most places, their diet relies significantly on plant foods, as bears dig for roots and browse for berries from spring to fall. Aside from the fish-loving coastal brown bears, the meat grizzlies eat often comes from grubs and moths, or from scavenging animals that died from other causes. When grizzlies kill larger animals for food, they are opportunists, picking off the weakest prey from a group in order to save energy. The presence of grizzlies keeps deer and elk herds on the move, preventing them from lingering in an area so long that they overgraze its shrubs and grasses.

It adds up to a simple biological truth: where grizzly bears walk the land, other plant and animal species are healthier. In scientific terms, this wide-reaching impact makes the grizzly an umbrella species. Our entire ecosystem depends on them.