Helena National Forest

National forest in Montana, United States

46°35′N 111°50′W / 46.583°N 111.833°W / 46.583; -111.833Area984,558 acres (3,984.36 km²)^[1]EstablishedApril 12, 1906^[2]Governing bodyU.S. Forest ServiceWebsiteHelena National Forest

Helena National Forest is located in west-central Montana, in the United States. Covering 984,558 acres (3,984.36 km²), the forest is broken into several separate sections. The eastern regions are dominated by the Big Belt Mountains, and are the location of the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness, which remains much as it did when the Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through the region. The western sections have both the continental divide and the Scapegoat Wilderness area, which is part of the Bob Marshall Wilderness complex. The southern region includes the Elkhorn Mountains. The forest is composed of a mixture of grass and sagebrush covered lowlands with "island" pockets of lodgepole pine and more mountainous areas where Douglas fir, spruce and larch can be found. The rocky mountains in the region do not exceed 10,000 feet (3,000 m).

The grizzly bear has a sustained population in the northwestern section of the forest,^[3] especially in the Scapegoat Wilderness. Other predators such as wolves, bobcats, wolverines, mountain lions, and Canadian lynx are also present^[4] Black bears are numerous as are elk, moose, mule deer, and antelope. There are also small populations of bighorn sheep and mountain goats. Along streams and lakes, sightings of nesting bald eagles and other raptors are becoming more common due to protection of these species and their vitally important waterways.

seven hundred miles (1,100 km)of hiking trails are located in the forest along with numerous trout streams and several lakes. There are over a dozen improved campgrounds. Snowmobile use is common in the winter months as is cross-country skiing.

Interstate 15 runs north–south and U.S. Route 12 runs east–west through the area. The largest nearby city is Helena, Montana, which is the headquarters location for the forest.

The forest was the site of the 1949 Mann Gulch fire, which claimed the lives of 13 firefighters and which was the subject of both Norman Maclean's book Young Men and Fire and James Keelaghan's folk song "Cold Missouri Waters."

In descending order of land area the forest is located in parts of Lewis and Clark, Broadwater, Powell, Jefferson, and Meagher counties.^[5] There are local ranger district offices in Helena, Lincoln, and Townsend.^[6]

References

^ "Land Areas of the National Forest System" (PDF). U.S. Forest Service. January 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
^ "The National Forests of the United States" (PDF). ForestHistory.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 28, 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
^ Juhlin, Ellis (August 4, 2023). "Judge rules Forest Service management of closed roads harms grizzly populations". Montana Public Radio. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
^ Record, Eve Byron Independent. "Grizzlies, wolves reclaim area".
^ "Table 6 - NFS Acreage by State, Congressional District, and County, 30 September 2008".
^ "USFS Ranger Districts by State" (PDF).

External links

"Helena National Forest". U.S. Forest Service. Retrieved July 8, 2006.
"Gates of the Mountains Wilderness". Wilderness.net. Retrieved July 8, 2006.

Protected areas of Montana

Federal

National parks	Glacier Yellowstone
National monuments	Little Bighorn Battlefield Pompeys Pillar (BLM) Upper Missouri River Breaks (BLM)
National battlefield	Big Hole
National historical parks and historic sites	Grant–Kohrs Ranch NHS Nez Perce NHP
National historic and scenic trails	Lewis and Clark NHT Nez Perce NHT Continental Divide NST Pacific Northwest NST
National recreation area	Bighorn Canyon
National Wildlife Refuges	Benton Lake Black Coulee Bowdoin Charles M. Russell Creedman Coulee Grass Lake Hailstone Hewitt Lake Lake Mason Lake Thibadeau Lamesteer Lee Metcalf Lost Trail Medicine Lake Ninepipe Pablo Red Rock Lakes Swan River UL Bend War Horse
National Forests	Beaverhead–Deerlodge Bitterroot Custer Flathead Gallatin Helena Kootenai Lewis and Clark Lolo
National Wilderness	Absaroka–Beartooth Anaconda–Pintler Bear Trap Canyon Bob Marshall Cabinet Mountains Gates of the Mountains Great Bear Lee Metcalf Medicine Lake Mission Mountains Rattlesnake Red Rock Lakes Scapegoat Selway–Bitterroot UL Bend Welcome Creek
National wild and scenic rivers	East Rosebud Creek Flathead Missouri

State

State parks	Ackley Lake Anaconda Smoke Stack Bannack Beaverhead Rock Beavertail Hill Big Arm Black Sandy Brush Lake Chief Plenty Coups Clark's Lookout Cooney Council Grove Elkhorn Finley First Peoples Buffalo Jump Fort Owen Frenchtown Pond Giant Springs Granite Ghost Town Greycliff Prairie Dog Town Hell Creek Lake Elmo Lake Mary Ronan Lewis and Clark Caverns Logan Lone Pine Lost Creek Madison Buffalo Jump Makoshika Medicine Rocks Missouri Headwaters Painted Rocks Parker Homestead Pictograph Cave Pirogue Island Placid Lake Rosebud Battlefield Salmon Lake Sluice Boxes Smith River Somers Beach Spring Meadow Lake Thompson Falls Tongue River Reservoir Tower Rock Travelers' Rest Wayfarers West Shore Whitefish Lake Wild Horse Island Yellow Bay
State forests	Clearwater Coal Creek Lincoln Lubrecht Experimental Stillwater Sula Swan River Thompson River
Wildlife Management Areas	Amelia Island Aunt Molly Badlands Beartooth Beckman Big Lake Blackfoot-Clearwater Blackleaf Blue Eyed Nellie Bowdoin Buffalo Head Park Bull River Calf Creek Canyon Creek Canyon Ferry Dodson Creek Dodson Dam Dome Mountain Ear Mountain Elk Island F Island Flathead Lake Flathead River Fleecer Mountain Fox Lake Freezout Lake Fresno Reservoir Fresno Tailwater Gallatin Garrity Mountain Grant Marsh Gravelly-Blacktail Haymaker Hinsdale Horseshoe Lake Howard Valley Isaac Homestead Judith River Kootenai/Falls Kootenai/West Kootenai/Woods Ranch Lake Helena Lost Creek Lower Stillwater Lake Madison-Bear Creek Madison-Wall Creek Milk River Mount Haggin Mount Jumbo Mount Silcox Nevada Lake Ninepipe North Swan Valley CE Pablo Ray Kuhns Robb-Ledford Rookery Roundhom Sanders Seven Sisters Silver Gate Silver Run Smith River Sun River Swan Lake Thompson-Fisher CE Three Mile Threemile Vandalia War Dance Island Warm Springs

Other

Nonprofit	American Prairie
Tribal	CSKT Bison Range

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