Grizzly bear recovery in the Lower 48 states began in the 1970s but now the bears will have some help on their path to a more resilient future from a whiskey brand that dates back a century longer, as Yellowstone Bourbon announced a new partnership with The Vital Ground Foundation to support habitat protection for grizzlies and other wildlife in the Northern Rockies.

Established in 1872, Yellowstone Bourbon was created to honor the sprawling wonder of America’s first national park. As a supporter of the National Parks Conservation Association, the company has shown a strong commitment to giving back by conserving the natural marvels of the parks and the animals found within.

But those animals, from bears to wolves to elk, don’t know when they cross a park boundary. Yellowstone Bourbon is now extending its reach beyond the national park to support Vital Ground’s work of habitat protection and conflict prevention across the Northern Rockies region. As a result, they will help one of the most iconic features of Yellowstone National Park — its grizzlies — stay safe as they continue to gradually expand their range. 

By supporting Vital Ground’s One Landscape Initiative, which uses conservation easements and land purchases to protect the most crucial pieces of private land that connect the region’s wild strongholds, Yellowstone Bourbon will be making a tangible impact for the species that has long adorned its bottles.

“Yellowstone Bourbon is proud to support the Vital Ground Foundation and their One Landscape Initiative to protect and connect major grizzly bear recovery areas in the contiguous United States,” Shanae Randolph, Marketing Director of Yellowstone Bourbon, said in a news release. “This year, Yellowstone Bourbon aims to help Vital Ground permanently protect more than 7,500 acres of vital grizzly habitat in order to provide grizzly bears with the connected landscape they require to survive and thrive.”

As a species with large home ranges and slow reproductive rates, grizzly bears must be able to move between different habitat areas to meet seasonal needs and avoid genetic isolation in fragmented sub-populations. While the grizzly population of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem has grown from a low point of barely 200 in the 1970s to around 1,000 today, it remains isolated from bear populations farther north in and around Glacier National Park and smaller wild areas of far northwestern Montana, northern Idaho and northeastern Washington.

By conserving crucial habitat linkage areas between these ecosystems and supporting local conflict prevention efforts like electric fencing and bear-resistant garbage programs, Vital Ground and Yellowstone Bourbon are helping close the gaps for grizzlies and other wide-ranging species, even as development pressures continue across the rural West.

“Yellowstone Bourbon is honored to continue our longstanding commitment to help conserve and protect the outdoors, and the wildlife that call it home,” Stephen Beam, Founder and Master Distiller of Limestone Branch Distillery, said. “Bears are close to our heart, as the Yellowstone brand has been associated with bears since our first major ad campaign featuring the Yellowstone National Park Bears premiered in 1948. We are thrilled to support Vital Ground in their mission, and are humbled to have the opportunity.”

Under the new partnership, Yellowstone Bourbon will make a significant financial contribution to Vital Ground’s One Landscape Initiative and help spread the word on the grizzly’s recovery needs and Vital Ground’s mission to a consumer base that extends far beyond Yellowstone.

“I’m excited and grateful for our partnership with Yellowstone Bourbon, a company with deep roots honoring Yellowstone National Park, a stronghold of the Great Bear,” Monica Hull, Corporate Giving and Outreach Coordinator for Vital Ground, said. “The next time I raise a glass of Yellowstone Bourbon, I’ll be thrilled to know that the same bourbon is helping grizzly bears connect across the region.”

Read more: Yellowstone Adds Small Batch 107 to Core Lineup

About Vital Ground

An accredited land trust and 501(c)(3) organization, Vital Ground conserves habitat for grizzly bears and other wildlife in the Northern Rockies. Founded in 1990 and based in Missoula, Mont., the organization also partners with communities to prevent conflicts between bears and people. For more information, visit https://www.vitalground.org/.

About Yellowstone Bourbon

Founded by pioneer distiller Joseph Bernard Dant, Yellowstone Bourbon was named after the United States’ first national park in 1872. In 2011, seventh-generation Master Distiller Stephen Beam – a descendant of both the historic Dant and Beam distilling families – founded Lebanon, Kentucky-based Limestone Branch Distillery and resurrected the Yellowstone brand with the creation of Yellowstone Select Bourbon. To learn more, visit YellowstoneBourbon.com.