Helena National Forest

Elkhorns Wildlife Management Unit

Range and Weeds

Elkhorns: Range and Weeds

As the lure of gold faded, humans turned their attention to other, as yet, unexploited resources offered by the Elkhorns. Cattle, horses, and sheep grazed “free range” on the foothills, along streams, and in the high lush mountain meadows. In the mid-1930’s boundary fences and allotments were established to better control livestock.

A major focus of the work in the Elkhorns today is to manage livestock to expedite recovery from past intensive grazing. This is done by updating allotment management plans to reflect state of the art knowledge of riparian systems and uplands.

Noxious weeds are concern everywhere, and in the Elkhorns, an Integrated Weed Strategy, designed to tackle the toughest weed problems wherever they occur, is working to shrink existing weed infestations and to halt the expansion and new invasions of noxious weeds.

INTEGRATED WEED MANAGEMENT STRATEGY The best strategy for weed management, relative to wildlife, is prevention. This means controlling the entry of weeds into an area by aggressive control along roads and other pathways of introduction.

USDA Forest Service - Helena National Forest
Last Modified: Monday, 25 June 2007 at 13:00:05 EDT