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 Priority Region: Salmon-Selway/Hells Canyon
Staff contacts: This region encompasses the Wallowa Mountains and Hells Canyon region of northeastern Oregon/west central Idaho and stretches into the large Salmon-Selway-Bitterroot wilderness complex of central and north Idaho. The Hells Canyon ecosystem, at the western end of this region, is a complex of mountain ranges of varying relief and orientation with intermixed plateaus and wide valleys. It harbors the largest free-roaming elk herd in North America and Hells Canyon itself, the deepest river-carved canyon in the United States. Other mammal species in this area include cougar, bobcat, coyote, pine marten, fisher, black bear, moose, and itinerant gray wolves. The Hells Canyon National Recreation Area alone boasts more 350 species of wildlife, including 239 known species of birds, 69 mammals and dozens of reptile and amphibian species. The Blue Mountains are the likely east-west linkage for wolves naturally recolonizing the Oregon Cascades from central Idaho. The highest diversity of rare plants in this region is located in the high-elevation areas of the Wallowa Mountains. The Salmon-Selway contains the largest roadless area in the lower 48 states, much of which is protected as Wilderness. Together, the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness (more than 1.3 million acres) and the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness (almost 2.4 million acres) form the largest Wilderness complex in the lower 48 states. Like the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the Salmon-Selway is a truly vast and invaluable wildlife core with the potential to ensure long-term recovery of the threatened grizzly bear population in the lower 48 states and sustain distinct populations of many other wildlife species. This complex of rugged mountains and ancient forests remains largely untouched at its core but increasingly fragmented around its perimeter. We are supporting the following organizations for work in this area. When you click on an organization name you will see a list of all grants made to that organization, which may include projects funded in other program areas. (Organizations receiving science-related grants are not included in this list. Please see our Conservation Science section for those grants.)
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| Wilburforce Foundation |
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