The Crown of the Continent Ecosystem
The Crown of the Continent is a special place where people, nations, and ecology meet. Spanning the boundaries of the U.S. and Canada, the Salish Kootenai, Ktunaxa, and Blackfeet nations, and four distinct ecoregions, the 18 million acre Crown ecosystem is also the meeting point of three continental river systems-the Missouri, Saskatchewan and Columbia. Born from the crossroads of conservation is the seed of a now vibrant international peace park movement. The Crown is a symbol of hope. Its very existence serves as the global touchstone for bringing peace where there has been conflict, for connecting people where there has been division, and for conserving nature as a whole, intact landscape.
The Crown is also an ecosystem undergoing rapid change from both a human and ecological standpoint. Noted for the many glaciers that have existed in the region for over seven millennia, only few remain in Glacier National Park today. The Crown is a poster landscape for the impacts of climate change and land use change. Water is life and the Crown glaciers have been the water bank for people and nature. The Crown is also experiencing extremely high rates of human in-migration growth as people flock to enjoy the region's natural and cultural amenities. |
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