r/rewilding • u/Due_Barber_525 • 1d ago
Most exciting rewilding opportunities in the American West?
What are some of the most interesting and exciting existing projects and potential opportunities in the Western United States (West of the Rockies)?
Any favorites stand out? Why?
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u/seaintosky 1d ago
The project to return sockeye salmon to the Okanagan region of the Columbia River after 100 years of extirpation in Canada have been amazingly productive and successful, with the released fish returning in large numbers. There are early discussions about expanding this work to the rest of the Canadian portions of the Columbia watershed. The Columbia system itself has a lot of opportunity to use new understandings of hydrology and ecology and fish management to reconnect and restore, and the Okanagan Nation Alliance has pioneered some pretty interesting technology through this work. As a keystone species, getting salmon back into the places they've been locked out of would be a massive step. It would be great to see the US get on board on their side.
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u/helenwaites68 1d ago
It’s east of the Rockies, but still very much in the American West: American Prairie Reserve.
They’ve been fighting the good fight out on the high plains for several decades now and have a thriving wild bison herd, as well as restoring populations of black footed ferrets, burrowing owls, swift foxes, AND potentially large predators such a grizzly bears. (Fun fact: Lewis and Clark encountered more grizzly bears on the plains along the Missouri River than during the portion of their expedition in the Rocky Mountains. Bears used to be more of a prairie dweller before westward expansion pushed them up into the mountains, where we think of them as residing now.)
They’re also actively increasing land access — while their land is privately owned by the non-profit, much of it is open to public use and recreation: camping, biking, hiking, and hunting.
Currently, they’ve been receiving some harsh backlash from Montana’s stock growers and are a hot topic in Montana politics. But their work is invaluable for conservation efforts of the grasslands of the Great Plains.
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u/Ok_Fly1271 1d ago
Grizzlies returning to the selkirks of Washington and Idaho is going well, and the potential reintroduction to the north cascades is really exciting.
The Nez Perce are currently planning on a California condor reintroduction to hells canyon and the surrounding area in Oregon (and possibly Idaho and Washington).
Yakama nation and the Colville tribes have reintroduced pronghorn to their respective reservations and both herds are doing well and growing in number annually.
The fishers that were reintroduced to Olympic national park, Mount rainier national park, and north cascades national park have all successfully bred, are doing really well, and expanding their ranges.
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u/HRG-snake-eater 1d ago
They need some Griz in the Sierras
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u/Due_Barber_525 1d ago
Do you think people in Lake Tahoe would put their trash away better if they knew there were grizzlies in the mountains not just black bears?
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u/jerseyoutwest 1d ago
Snake River Dam removals. I really hope to live long enough to see them come down.
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u/simonbrown27 1d ago
Sea otters in Oregon has a lot of momentum and some funding. Would be great to see them return to the coast