Montana Valley and Foothill grasslands

Montana Valley and Foothill grasslands
Bison at the National Bison Range
Ecology
Biome	Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Bird species	214
Mammal species	88
Geography
Area	31,500 km2 (12,200 sq mi)
Countries	United States and Canada
States	Montana and Alberta
Conservation
Habitat loss	26.375%
Protected	26.85%

The Montana Valley and Foothill grasslands are an ecoregion of northwestern North America in the northern United States and Canada.

This area consists of rolling grassy hills and river valleys of the Rocky Mountains foothills in the US state of Montana and the Canadian province of Alberta. The area largely consists of the Rocky Mountain Front, where the Great Plains rise to meet the Rockies, and is thus near the Continental Divide. The foothills are drained by the upper Missouri River and the Clark Fork/Bitterroot River systems among others. The ecoregion also contains outlying disconnected areas of similar habitat such as valleys of the Bow River in Alberta. The area has a moderate clmate, warmed by the Chinook wind which brings dry, warm summers (average 14°C) and winters that are mild for this latitude (ave. -8°C).

While the dominant vegetation are grasses such as rough fescue with Parry's oatgrass and Koeleria (June grasses) the foothills are rich in plant life with, for example, 487 species of plant counted in southwest Montana's Centennial Valley. The ecoregion also contains sagebrush country in the higher and drier valleys in the rain shadow of the Rockies such as the upper Madison, Ruby and Red Rock Rivers, which are a similar habitat to the neighbouring Snake-Columbia shrub steppe ecoregion. Finally the ecoregion contains parts of the Prairie Pothole Region, large areas of wetland and rich grass on the Rocky Mountain Front steppe. Traditionally the grassland was reduced and then renewed by a combination of heavy grazing by bison and other ungulates and regular fires.

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