Chinook Salmon
Chinook or King salmon spend most of their lives in the Pacific Ocean, only swimming into the Clearwater to reproduce and die.
Canada Lynx
Canada lynx is a rare, solitary cat specialized for hunting snowshoe hare. They are threatened in the USA.
Wolverine
The wolverine is a rare carnivore in the weasel family. It is highly adapted for cold weather, deeply wary of humans, and an indicator species for climate change
Steelhead Trout
A threatened migratory fish, important both as part of Indigenous culture and as a popular sport fish
Grizzly Bear
The largest carnivores of the Wild Clearwater, grizzly bears (also called the North American brown bear) were listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1975. Conservation status: Threatened The Great Bear There are few animals more wondrous than the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis). Both physically large and intelligent, it […]
Species Spotlight: Pacific Lamprey
This article was first published in the Spring 2024 edition of the Clearwater Defender. You can have the Defender delivered straight to your house when you become an FOC member. Natural History Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) are eel-shaped jawless fish. Lamprey aren’t actually eels, but a kind of very primitive cartilaginous fish, like sharks and […]
Grizzly bear recovery: The Natural Way
NOTE: This article was published in the Spring 2024 edition of the Clearwater Defender, and is now somewhat dated. If you are interested in receiving articles like these to your home or inbox, consider becoming a member here. Grizzlies in the Bitterroot Ecosystem In last summer’s Defender (summer 2023) we reported on the results of […]
FOC Sues for Western Wolves (April 2024)
On April 8, wildlife advocacy and conservation groups including Friends of the Clearwater filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Montana, intending to gain protections under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for the gray wolf in the states of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. This action comes on the heels of the Feb. 7 […]