This ecoregion is located in eastern and central Idaho, south-western and south-central Montana, western and northeastern Wyoming, and southwestern South Dakota.

[2] The ecoregion is predominantly coniferous forest, dominated by lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta latifolia) due to relatively recent major fires in the area.

Other typical species include harlequin duck, Barrow's goldeneye, Swainson's hawk, bald eagle, osprey, sage grouse, sandhill crane, Franklin's gull, American dipper, Townsend's solitaire, yellow-rumped warbler, and Brewer's sparrow.

[3] Herpetofauna typical of this ecoregion are the spotted frog, prairie rattlesnake, rubber boa, boreal toad, and blotched tiger salamander.

Indiscriminate logging of unprotected areas and the deaths of grizzly bears and possibly wolves by ungulate hunters are the main threats to this ecoregion's integrity.