The Blackfoot Challenge was formally chartered in 1993, though active concern for the valley predates the charter. For example, private landowners in the Blackfoot Valley were instrumental in bringing conservation easement legislation, walk-in hunting areas and recreation corridor management to Montana in the late 1970s. The Blackfoot River headwaters atop the Continental Divide at Roger's Pass and empties into the Clark fork River east of Missoula, Montana. In its 132 mile journey, the river runs through some of the most productive fish and wildlife habitat in the Northern Rocky Mountains. Mountain ranges, National Forests, and the Bob Marshall and Scapegoat Wilderness Areas surround the valley.
Diversity supports a wide variety of fish and wildlife species.
Prairie wetland complexes attract a large number of breeding and migratory birds, including sandhill cranes and black terns. The tributary streams to the Blackfoot River provide crucial spawning and rearing habitat for the federally listed bull trout and the westslope cutthroat trout. The valley is at the southern edge of the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem which supports the largest population of Grizzly bears in the lower 48 states. The Blackfoot Valley has kept its biological diversity thanks mostly to the ranchers that manage the valley floor. There are approximately 2,500 households and seven separate communities in the Blackfoot.