Alliance for the Wild Rockies

The Alliance for the Wild Rockies (AWR) formed in 1988 to meet the challenge of saving the Northern Rockies Bioregion from habitat destruction. The Alliance is comprised of thousands of individuals, business owners, and organizations taking a bioregional approach to protect and restore this great region, whose forests – which are under constant threat from the timber industry – absorb 14% of CO2 in the U.S. AWR’s mission is to secure the ecological integrity of the Wild Rockies Bioregion through citizen empowerment and the application of conservation biology, sustainable economic models and environmental law. Every day, AWR educates the public about the value of old growth forests and clean mountain watersheds. The organization actively promotes the conservation of biological corridors between wilderness areas so that grizzlies, lynx, wolves, bison, and countless other native species can not only survive, but thrive.

Alliance for the Wild Rockies is one of the smallest environmental organizations in the country (with one full-time staff), yet they have a huge impact. A membership-based, nonprofit organization, the Alliance’s board and advisors include some of the nation’s top scientists and conservationists, and their research and experience strongly supports the argument for the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act–whose passage is a main priority for AWR. Since their founding, AWR has worked to protect thousands of acres of old growth forests from road building and logging in Montana’s Seeley-Swan Valley. They have stopped a 2,900 acre timber sale on the western border of Yellowstone National Park, saving 500 acres of old growth forest and preventing new logging roads from cutting into grizzly bear and lynx habitat. They have also fought for native species both large and small, from mountain lions and wolverines to bull trout and ground squirrels, and have twice sued the federal government to maintain the grizzly bear’s status on the endangered species list. AWR has also prevented natural gas pipelines from going through forest land.

For more information:

The Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act is the last best chance for the last best place – Idaho Capital Sun, May 2023

Alliance for Wild Rockies Halts Degradation of Red Rocks Lake Wilderness – Counterpunch, September 2023

“Holland Lake Lodge Syndrome:” a Pervasive Mindset Throughout the Forest Service – Counterpunch, March 2023