and endangered plant and animal life all in one intact bioregion. (7) Since the 1936 roadless area inventory completed by Bob Marshall, millions of acres of roadless wild lands have been developed in the Northern Rockies. Extensive fragmentation of wild lands and wildlife habitat has resulted in the listing of several species as threatened or endangered and reduced the numbers and range of many others, including anadromous fish. (8) The natural ecosystems of the Northern Rockies Bioregion also serve as educational and research centers for on-site studies in biology, geology, astronomy and other sciences. The pristine nature of the National Forest System lands, National Park System lands, and public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management in the Northern Rockies Bioregion helps local communities attract new residents and businesses based on local quality of life. (9) A review of the current situation in the Northern Rockies has revealed the urgent need for an ecological reserve system for the Northern Rockies Bioregion, which includes core ecosystem reserve areas and biological connecting corridors necessary to ensure wildlife movements and genetic interchange between the core reserve areas. Wildlife freedom of movement has always been essential to the survival of wildlife species, and an increasing number of scientific studies have identified movement corridors as a necessity for wildlife conservation in a changing climate. Several foreign governments, including the governments of Australia and Scotland, have announced plans for corridors that would make wildlife movement possible as climate pressures increase. The concept of connective corridors for wildlife movement has been endorsed by governors of States in the western United States, and is now widely recognized by conservation and scientific organizations. For example, freedom of movement for wildlife is basic to the emerging new science of Movement Ecology described in a December 2008 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This