- Flathead National Forest
Infobox_protected_area | name = Flathead National Forest
iucn_category = VI
caption =
locator_x = 68
locator_y = 21
location =Montana , USA
nearest_city = Kalispell, MT
lat_degrees = 48
lat_minutes = 1
lat_seconds = 26
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 113
long_minutes = 48
long_seconds = 30
long_direction = W
area = 2,351,761 acres (9,300 km²)
established =1899
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
governing_body = U.S. Forest ServiceThe Flathead National Forest is a national forest in the western part of the U.S. state ofMontana . The forest covers 2.3 million acres (9300 km²) of which about 1 million acres (4000 km²) is designatedwilderness . It is named after theFlathead Indians who lived in the area. The forest is located in theRocky Mountains with elevations ranging from less than 4,500 feet to over 8,500 feet (1400 to 2600 m). The Forest provides habitat for approximately 250 species of wildlife and 22 species of fish. This includes the threatenedgrizzly bear ,lynx ,bald eagle ,bull trout , a rare plant namedwater howellia , and the endangeredgray wolf .The Flathead National Forest is bordered by Glacier National Park andCanada (to the north, theLewis and Clark National Forest and Glacier to the east, theLolo National Forest to the south, and theKootenai National Forest to the west. Thewilderness area s in the forest are theBob Marshall Wilderness Area,Great Bear Wilderness Area, andMission Mountains Wilderness Area. Other specially-designated areas in the forest include Flathead Wild and Scenic River,Jewel Basin Hiking Area, and theCoram Experimental Forest . Some 270,000 acres (1,100 km²) of non-federal land are also included in the boundaries drawn for the national forest. This includes private land, commercial forest and part or all ofSwan River State Forest ,Stillwater State Forest andCoal Creek State Forest .Commercial activities in the non-wilderness sections of the forest includetimber harvesting, two downhillski resorts and a small amount ofcattle grazing. Individuals can pick less than 10 gallons of beries without a permit. Larger amounts of berries, firewood and Christmas tree cutting, mushroom or mineral gathering and camping in wilderness areas require permits.The forest contains 1,700 miles (2,700 km) of roads, many of them primitive fire roads and 2,800 miles (4,500 km) of
hiking trails.While
camping is allowed almost anywhere within national forests without a permit, Flathead National Forest also has 34 campgrounds with some facilities. The largest campground has only 40 sites and 2 campgrounds have only one site each. Most campgrounds do not have running water. There are also 11 cabins for rent in the forest.The forest lies primarily in Flathead County (about 73% of its acreage), but smaller areas extend into five other counties. In descending order of land area they are Powell, Missoula, Lake, Lewis and Clark, and Lincoln counties. Forest headquarters are located in
Kalispell, Montana .External links
* [http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/flathead/ Official website]
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