Lewis and Clark National Forest
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Mailing Address:
National Forest
1101 15th Street N.
Great Falls, MT 59401
Phone: (406) 791-7700
About Us
Forest Location and FeaturesThe Lewis and Clark National Forest lies in central and north central Montana within the upper Missouri River system. The Forest encompasses portions of thirteen counties.West of Great Falls, (site of the Supervisor's Office) lies the Rocky Mountain Division of the Forest. Over 380,000 acres within the District comprises the Bob Marshall-Great Bear-Scapegoat Wilderness Complex. Another 300,000 acres are managed primarily for recreation, wildlife and scenic values. The Jefferson Division sprawls over 1,060,000 acres and six mountain ranges (the Highwoods, Crazies, Little Belts, Castles, and Big and Little Snowies). Timber and grazing are major resources of the Jefferson Division. In fact, this Division supplies almost all (96%) of the timber and most (85%) of range production on the Forest. There are two congressionally designated Wilderness Study areas; one in the Little Belt Mountains and the other in the Big Snowy Mountains.
Forest Mission & Vision StatementThe Lewis and Clark Forest has a strong commitment to providing ecologically sustainable goods, service, and experience. Management direction is revised to respond to new information on ecosystem management. The organization of the Forest is adaptive, efficient and responsive. Customer service, partnerships, and a strong land ethic are all hallmarks of the Forest.
Forest Wildlife / Fisheries / RecreationThe Lewis and Clark Forest is home for large game animals, small animals and protected species. Forest visitors can hunt elk, mule and white tail deer, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, black bear, mountain lion, and blue grouse. Protected wildlife living on or near the Forest include lynx, bald eagles, grizzly bears, peregrine falcon and gray wolf. The Forest contains many popular viewing sites for migrating waterfowl.The Forest has 1,600 miles of perennial streams and a few small natural and man-made lakes where forest visitors may fish for trout and mountain whitefish. Included are 14 boat camps and 20 miles of frontage on the Smith River, a nationally acclaimed blue ribbon trout stream. Additionally, over 60 streams are known to support westslope cutthroat trout, an imperiled native fish of the upper Missouri River basin. Recreation opportunities in the Lewis and Clark National Forest's 1.8 million acres are as varied as the landscape and elevation of the Forest itself. The elevation ranges from 4,500 to 9,362 feet at the top of Rocky Mountain Peak in the Rocky Mountains. The Forest also has 10,730 acres in designated Research Natural Areas - the highest in the Region. The Forest contains many scenic drives including the Kings Hill National Scenic Byway - U.S. Highway 89 through the Little Belt Mountains, which is a major route between Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks. The Lewis and Clark National Forest contains 29 developed recreation sites. Many of these sites are handicap accessible. There are five cabins on the Forest that may be rented by the public on a first come, first served basis. The Forest also has two special-use ski areas within its boundaries.
Forest Timber / Fuels / GrazingEven before the Lewis and Clark Reserve was created in 1897, settlers, ranchers, miners and others looked toward the Forest for a wide variety of wood products including fuel wood, mine timbers, lumber, posts and poles. The first commercial sales occurred in the early 1900s. Since the late 1940s, and average of 14 million board feet of timber has been harvested yearly from the Forest. Today mechanized fallers, bundlers, and forwarders operate on the 15% of the Forest that is suitable for timber harvest. About 1,000 acres are harvested yearly. The Lewis and Clark is involved in several stewardship projects, trading goods for services to help us accomplish our program of work.As a result of our NFMAS analysis the Forest's preparedness and fuels dollars support target accomplishment in the range of from 8,000 to 10,000 acres annually. Over 65,670 animal unit months of domestic livestock grazing are permitted annually to 213 permittees on 176 grazing allotments.
Forest ExperimentalThe Lewis and Clark Forest is home to the Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest, which is the only experimental Forest in the Northern Rockies that represents the lodgepole pine forest type. The 9,125-acre experimental forest is composed primarily of dense mature lodgepole pine stands. This Forest was established for multi-disciplinary research and for demonstration areas that show new land management activities. |
What is the Forest Service ?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service is a Federal agency that manages public lands in national forests and grasslands. More "EXPLORE! The Big Sky"
Lewis and Clark on Your National Forests and Grasslands
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US Forest Service - Lewis and Clark National Forest
Last Modified: Thursday, 08 March 2007 at 16:54:49 EST