The core of this ecosystem is Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness. America's largest bighorn sheep herd scales the peaks here and grizzlies still roam the prairies along the Rocky Mountain Front. Old growth forests in the Swan and Mission Ranges shade pristine bull trout spawning runs. The gray wolf is making a comeback here, alongside the largest grizzly population in the lower forty-eight. Glaciers and permanent snowfields cloak the rugged Teton and Beartooth Mountains.
Diverse habitats range from cactus deserts to alpine tundra.
Wildlife includes the grizzly bear, our nation's last wild bison herd, endangered trumpeter swans and nearly 50,000 elk. This ecosystem is one of the most rugged, remote areas in America. Several species of salmon and the steelhead trout still swim from the Pacific Ocean to spawn in the high mountain tributaries of the Salmon and Clearwater Rivers. Biological and landscape diversity is great, ranging from rocky, dry canyons to wet forests of ancient cedars. The wettest region of the Wild Rockies, this ecosystem contains its last major stands of low elevation ancient forests.